Dino Melaye, the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council, posted a video on Twitter on March 15, 2023, disputing the United States (US) congratulatory message to Bola Tinubu on victory at the polls.
Melaye’s tweet was caption: “US congratulate Tinubu: No be the man dey talk ooo. Watch him mouth. Which agbero tv station be this wey no get nafdac number. Na wa for desperados. SDM”
Less than 24 hours after Melaye tweeted the video, it has garnered over 300,000 views and more than a thousand likes.
Melaye suggested that the video was doctored, and it does not show a US official congratulating Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for winning the election.
Claim: Did the US congratulate Bola Tinubu on his victory at the polls or the video was doctored as Melaye claims?
Verification
On March 2, 2023, PlusTV Africa posted the video on their YouTube channel with the caption “Presidential Election: US Congratulates Tinubu On Victory At Polls.”
The CDD Election War Room found that the video is an excerpt from the press briefing by Ned Price, the spokesperson for the United States Department of State.
On March 1, 2023, Ned Price read the congratulatory message as part of his opening speech at the Department of State Daily Press Briefing.
“First, the United States congratulates the people of Nigeria, President-elect Tinubu and all political leaders following the declaration by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission or INEC on the results of the February 25th Presidential election,” he said.
He also posted the full statement on his official Twitter handle.
Verdict
Dino Melaye’s claim is false. The video is genuine; the US congratulated Bola Tinubu for winning the just-concluded presidential election. The message is contained in a States Department press briefing by Ned Price. That video was uploaded by PlusTVAfrica on its YouTube channel. A statement was also published to this effect, asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fix technical issues before the gubernatorial and state assembly polls.
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