Ahead of the May 29 official swearing-in ceremony, a picture of Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president-elect, has circulated online with the claim that it shows a hidden ‘charging cord’ attached to his arm.
The image, showing the moment Tinubu shook hands with the former British prime minister, Tony Blair, was shared by a Twitter user, @PIDOMNIGERIA on May 23, 2023.
The post has since garnered over 448,000 views, 1,740 retweets, and 4,552 likes as of when it was retrieved on Thursday, May 25, 2023.
This is coming on the heels of the controversies that have trailed Tinubu’s presidential bid on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with questions bordering on his health status.
A veteran Nigerian singer, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, a staunch supporter of the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had earlier alleged, “Tinubu now has charging port in case battery run down.”
The visit by Tony Blair comes few days after the former Lagos state governor arrived Nigeria from Europe, where he was on vacation for over a month.
Claim: Does picture show Bola Tinubu with a ‘charging cord’ under his arm?
Verification
To verify the viral claim, the CDD Election War Room traced the source of the picture to when the former British prime minister, Tony Blair visited Tinubu at the Defence House, Abuja, on May 23, 2023.
We assessed the pictures taken on the said occasion and found that the picture in question shows the seamline of Bola Tinubu’s native dress, and not a “charging cord” as claimed.
Verdict: FALSE
CDD Election War Room can confirm that the viral picture shows the seamline of the native dress worn by Bola Tinubu and not a ‘charging cord’ attached to his arm.