FACT-CHECK: How true are some claims made by Peter Obi on Channels TV’s Politics Today?

FACT-CHECK: How true are some claims made by Peter Obi on Channels TV’s Politics Today?

On Monday, July 25, 2022, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, featured on Politics Today, a live television show on Channels Television. Mr. Obi made the claims on Monday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today hosted by Seun Okinbaloye.

This fact-checking piece highlights two of the claims made by Peter Obi, and checks how factual they are.

CLAIM 1: Obi, who is former Governor of Anambra state, claimed that he’s the first Governor to be impeached and reinstated in Nigeria.

“I’m the first governor to be impeached and reclaimed the mandate in Nigeria.” Mr. Obi claimed.

Verification:

More than any politician in the current democratic experience, Peter Obi has enjoyed the grace of the court to restore his mandate twice as governor of Anambra State. In 2003, Obi contested in the Anambra State governorship election as a candidate for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) party, but his opponent, Chris Ngige of the People’s Democratic Party, was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He would later endure almost three years of litigation to get his mandate back after Ngige’s victory was overturned by the Court of Appeal on 15 March 2006. Obi became governor of the state on 17 March 2006.

But his reign was short-lived when on November 2, 2006 he was impeached by the State House of Assembly after seven months in office and was replaced the next day by Virginia Etiaba, his deputy, making her the first-ever female governor in Nigeria’s history. He challenged the impeachment and was reinstated by Nigeria’s apex court on February 9, 2007.

However, records on Wikipedia, ICIR Nigeria, and Infomedia NG shows that on January 12, 2006, Rashidi Ladoja was impeached as the Governor of Oyo State by Oyo State House of Assembly. He challenged his impeachment, and on November 1, 2006, the Appeal Court in Ibadan reinstated him, declaring the process of his impeachment null and void. Ladoja officially resumed office on December 12, 2006.

This shows that Rashidi Ladoja was the first governor to be impeached and reinstated in Nigeria.

Verdict: This claim is FALSE.

CLAIM 2: Peter Obi also claimed that out of 150 players in the American NBA, almost 100 are Nigerians.

“If you go into American NBA, out of 150 players, almost 100 are Nigerians.” Mr. Obi said.

Verification:

Data sourced from the official website of the NBA and RealGM, one of the Web’s most popular and well-respected sports sites and offers users all the data on sports, shows that in the 2021/2022 season, only 5 of the players were Nigerians. However, in the current 2022/2023 season, only 10 of the players are Nigerians while 10 other players are originally Nigerians but are American citizens.

Records also show that the NBA has approximately 450 players and not 150 as claimed by Peter Obi.

Verdict: Therefore the claim that out of 150 players in the American NBA, almost 100 are Nigerians is FALSE and MISLEADING.

Muhammed-Bello Buhari is a fact-checker based in Kaduna and can be reached via [email protected]