FACT-CHECK: How Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu exaggerated 2019 votes casts in Lagos

By Raji Rasaki

Claim:

‘’In 2019, only about 29 percent of the registered voters in Lagos voted, while other states like Kano and Katsina had 56-60 percent of voters”

–Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu

Verdict:

Exaggerated.

INEC data and Situation Report indicate that 2019 votes cast in Lagos was 18.3%, 36.4% in Kano and 50.4% in Katsina.

Full Story

On Thursday, December 1st 2022, the Governor and gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Party (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at a special prayer session toward a hitch-free 2023 General Elections for Lagos state and Nigeria at the Lagos Central Mosque, Lagos-Island, made a claim here and here about the percentage of registered voters that voted in the 2019 general election in Nigeria. 

Addressing the congregation, Governor Sanwo-Olu notes that the only candidate that meets the criteria is the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying that the ruling party’s candidate has what it takes in terms of leadership, networking, among others.

Figures have been one strategy Politicians now adopt to canvas the unsuspecting electorate to influence them to vote for them. 

Is it true only about 29 percent of the registered voters in Lagos voted? We verify Mr. Sanwo-Olu’s claim.

Verification 

We verify the authenticity of this claim by visiting the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room website and checking out the document on “Report of Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections”.

The report gives a breakdown of the registered voters before the elections, during collation of the presidential election results in its Appendix C. 

A close analysis of the data provided by the Situation room shows that the total registered voters in Lagos in 2019 was 6,313,507, with a total vote cast of 1,156,590, representing 18.3%.

Is it true other states like Kano and Katsina had 56-60 percent of voters in the 2019 election?

According to the Situation Room Report, Kano State had 5,391,581, with a total vote cast put at 1,964,751, representing 36.4%.

In Katsina, statistics showed that Katsina had 3,210,422 registered voters, with a total vote cast put at 1,619,185, representing 50.4%

Similarly, on February 28, 2019, The Punch published an analysis of the INEC’s data on the outcome of the 2019 elections, indicating Lagos recorded the lowest voters turnout with 17.25 per cent.

According to the INEC’s official data as published by The Punch, results showed that Kano State recorded the highest number of votes cast with 1,964,751 while Lagos State led the Southern states, with the lowest voter turnout of 17.25 per cent.

Conclusion:

Judging from the statistics published by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and those published by credible news platforms, the total percent of registered voters in the 2019 general election in Lagos stood at 18.3%, 36.4% in Kano and 50.4% in Katsina.

Verdict

The Governor’s claims are exaggerated