FEWER than 24 hours after the Anambra State governorship election began, an image is being circulated online that the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state Basil Ejidike collapsed after his party suffered defeat in his local government area (LGA).
The post made by Twitter user Igweh U Achebe Esq. (@IgwehAche) showing a man on his knees being helped into a car has garnered over 1,000 engagements.
The tweet read; “Just In; Anambra state APC chairman, Chief Basil Ejidike collapses after losing his LGA to PDP. #AnambraDecides2021.”
The image was also shared with the same caption on blogs and Facebook.
THE CLAIM:
The image shows Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State Basil Ejidike collapsing after the party lost at his local government.
THE FINDINGS:
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is false as the image has been on the internet since 2017.
It has been used to illustrate different stories and incidents.
In one instance in 2017, he was a man who pretended to have fainted after finding out the person he assaulted was a policeman’s wife.
In another instance in 2020, he was a man who found out his stimulus (COVID-19) cheque was going towards child support.
Furthermore, The FactCheckHub findings show that at the time the tweet was made, the PDP was yet to win any LGA in the state.
Media reports show that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won in all the seven LGAs released so far.
THE VERDICT:
The claim that the image shows chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State collapsing after the party lost at his local government to the PDP is FALSE.
'Niyi worked with The ICIR as an Investigative Reporter and Fact-checker from 2020 till September 2022. You can shoot him an email via [email protected]. You can as well follow him on Twitter via @niyi_oyedeji.