On March 6, 2023, Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) Presidential candidate, and the second runner-up in the just-concluded presidential election, met with the newly elected senator for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe.
Shortly after the meeting, Peter Obi posted on Twitter that she just became the first elected female senator for the FCT.
In less than two hours after the tweet, it had garnered over 71,000 views and 4,000 retweets.
A few hours after Obi posted the tweet, and after a number of corrections from other Twitter users, he deleted it and tweeted another claim.
This time, he said, “a hearty congratulations to senator-elect Mrs @ireti_Kingibe; the second elected female senator for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.”
Even though he deleted the tweet, it had gone viral; Vanguard News, Arise News, and Per Second News referenced Peter Obi’s tweet, in their reportage.
They described Kingibe as the first elected female senator for the FCT, Abuja. On its Morning Show on March 8, Arise News described her as the first female senator, before they too were corrected.
To be sure, is Ireti Kingibe the first elected female senator for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)?
Verification
CDD Election War Room found that on February 20, 1999, Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe became the first elected female senator for the FCT.
She was elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Her tenure lasted a single term of four years and was succeeded by Isa Maina.
Verdict
The claim that Ireti Kingibe is the first elected female senator for the FCT is FALSE. While Obi has since corrected himself, most of the news platforms that picked the story are yet to do the same.