A CLAIM retrieved from a WhatsApp group said that a  former senator, Ademola Adeleke, who is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Osun state, is giving out N10,000 as campaign funds to each Nigerian in a bid to garner support ahead of the July 2022 governorship election in the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on the 11th of April, 2022 announced  Adeleke as the PDP flag-bearer of the party in the final list of candidates published.

“Ademola Adeleke free N10,000 governorship campaign 2023. support Ademola Adeleke for the governorship campaign and receive N10,000 as part of his CAMPAIGN FUNDS. This grant is available to all Nigerians who follow the link below to support him. Apply here”, the claim read.

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THE CLAIM

Ademola Adeleke is giving each Nigerian N10,000 campaign funds.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

A click on the application link directs users to a page with an image of Adeleke and the logo of the Peoples Democratic Party with an inscription, vote 2023.

The FactCheckHub observed that the page attempts to collect basic information like the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of users.

When the website was subjected to verification on Whois – an internet tool for verifying domain names’ registration information, findings revealed that it was created on the 19th of January 2022, with New Jersey (USA) as its current IP location. The weblink automatically redirects to another phishing website, which was created on the 8th of August, 2021 with the same IP location as the former.

The FactCheckHub also reached out to the Director, Media and Strategy for The Ademola Adeleke Campaign Organisation, Olawale Rasheed, who clearly stated that the claim is FALSE.

Olawale, in a WhatsApp conversation with The FactCheckHub stated that he had issued a disclaimer to debunk the news, adding that it is a scam.

“There is no truth in that scam. We issued a disclaimer when the fake news was going viral. It was widely circulated then. Senator Ademola Adeleke is not giving any grant to anybody. He is also not soliciting for campaign fund,” he stated.

A closer look at the website shows that it shares similar features with phishing websites that had earlier been debunked by The FactCheckHub here, here, and here.

THE VERDICT

The claim that Senator Ademola Adeleke is giving each Nigerian N10,000 campaign funds is FALSE.

This report was republished by TheFactCheckHub.

Omolola Pedro

Omolola Pedro is a Reporter/ Fact-Checker at The International Centre for Investigative Reporting. She believes in a society that is fair to all. She has deep interest in Gender Equality, Social Justice, and protection of human rights.

You can reach out to her via mail [email protected], Twitter:@pedro_omolola