The European Union Election Observation Mission has accused Festus Keyamo, a former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, and Femi Fani-Kayode, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), of spreading fake news during the 2023 general election in Nigeria.
In its latest report, the EU Observers identified instances where both Keyamo and Fani-Kayode disseminated misleading information while campaigning for their respective candidates.
The report states, “There was an increased incidence of misleading information in the days leading up to and during the election. In many cases, false reports were spread by well-known personalities associated with political parties.”
On February 12, Festus Keyamo, representing the APC, endorsed information published by a suspicious website that accused Peter Obi of bribery. The story quickly became viral but was debunked within a few hours.
Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation and member of the APC, claimed on February 11, 2023, that the PDP presidential candidate, Abubakar, had a secret meeting with serving military generals in Abuja.
He accused Atiku of inciting chaos, attempting a coup d’état, and seeking to establish a new and unconstitutional order. Fani-Kayode posted this claim across multiple social media platforms, garnering a total of 281.2k impressions. The following day, he posted that the Army denied reports of a meeting between its officers and Atiku.”
