A statement attributed to Muhammad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, has gone viral on social media, claiming the monarch endorsed Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
This is coming amidst controversies over the endorsement of presidential candidates ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, set to hold less than 37 days from now.
The post shared on WhatsApp and Twitter as seen here, here, and here quoted the Sultan as saying that he should be held responsible if Obi does not perform well as Nigeria’s president.
It also claimed that the problem of the North would get worse if Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) wins the election.
“North has no sense and can’t reason far, that’s why their life is not regarded as anything, vote for someone who will value you like they value life in Igbo land,” a part of the statement read.
“Since Fulani has been ruling Nigeria, what has the North achieved, the highest number of beggers still in the North, not the east, all manner of death and killings happen here not in Igbo land while Fulani is in power, this time around let an Igbo man rule Nigeria.”
Verification
However, CDD Election War Room has found this to be false. Bashir Adefaka, the Sultan’s media aide, debunked the statement here and here.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the statement is fake because such an irresponsible write-up, credited to him, could not have emanated from anywhere near or around His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and President of NSCIA,” the statement read in part.
The statement further challenged that “a copy of the letter purportedly written by the Sultan or a video or audio clip where he endorsed Peter Obi and denied APC’s Tinubu” be published.
This is not the first time a false endorsement statement credited to the Sultan would emerge online.
In June last year, similar content was widely circulated on social media quoting the Sultan to have said he would mobilize five million votes in the North for Peter Obi.
Another statement also claimed that Sanusi Lamido, the former Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) declared support for Peter Obi. The two reports were however found to be false as reported here and here.