A gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has made multiple claims about his local government ahead of the off-cycle election in the state. Ize-Iyamu, was initially among the 12 aspirants cleared by the party for the governorship primaries before announcing his withdrawal from the race. He made a number of claims in a recent interview on national television.
Ize-Iyemu’s local government, Orhionmwon, is one of the 18 LGAs of the state where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be conducting the off-cycle elections later this year.
To justify his governorship bid, Ize-Iyamu said, “Orhionmwon has never had a governor, we have never had a minister, we have never had a chairman of a party, we have never had a speaker. Whatever position we have never had. That’s the LGA that has no light, no water, no hospital, no higher institution. Yet, it has the largest landmass in the entire state. That is the local government that has the largest gas reserve in the entire country.”
Ize-Iyamu, a pastor, was the APC governorship candidate for the 2020 Edo state governorship election.
Claim I: Orhionmwon LGA has no hospital
Verification
To verify this claim, we checked Thehospitalbook, an online database with the records of over 38,000 health facilities. We found that there are over 18 government-owned health facilities in Orhionmwon local government, including Government Hospital Urhonigbe, Oben Cottage Hospital Ugu, Egbokor District Hospital Iyoba, Igbanke General Hospital Igbanke, and General Hospital Abudu Abiokunla 1.
Also, we contacted a resident, Edetanlen Anthony, who confirmed the existence of a general hospital owned by the state government and located in Abudu, Orhionmwon LGA.
Verdict: INACCURATE
Claim II: Orhionmwon LGA has no higher institution
Verification
We found a statement by the Edo State Commissioner of Communication and Orientation, Christopher Osaretin Nehikhare, stating that the Edo State College of Education has a campus in Orhionmwon LGA. According to the statement, the facility was previously the Esigie Teacher Training College, an institution known for training teachers in the Western/Midwest regions.
Verdict: INACCURATE
Claim III: Orhionmwon LGA has the largest gas reserve in Nigeria
Verification
Although CDD War Room found no data of the breakdown of gas reserves volume by LGAs across Nigeria, the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, reportedly disclosed in April 2021, during a national gas expansion programme in Owerri, that Imo state hosts a substantial quantity of gas reserves. This he said amounts to over 200 trillion cubic feet with an additional potential of 600 TCF. Also, while addressing the 23rd World Petroleum Congress in Houston, Texas, U.S., in December 2021, Sylva stated that the country’s gas reserves stood at 206 trillion cubic feet.
In April 2023, Ogbugo Ukoha, an Executive Director of Distribution System, Facility and Retailing Infrastructure at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), reportedly told journalists in Enugu state that Imo state had the largest gas reserve in the country. This was also reported here.
Verdict: ALL WE KNOW