Two Nigerian journalists have been nominated for the 2016 edition of the African Fact-Checking Awards.

One of them is Ajibola Amzat of the Guardian newspaper, whose story, “State of the Living Springs gasps for breath”, revealed the inaccuracy in the claims by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who claimed that Osun State received N176.5 billion between November 2010 to December 2014.

Amzat’s fact-checking, however, revealed that the actual amount released to Osun state within that period was N180.3 billion, showing a difference of N3.8 billion.

The other journalist, Adedayo Oketola, of Saturday Punch conducted a fact-check on the state of Nigeria’s first communication Satellite, ‘NIGCOMSAT 1’.

His report showed that four years after it was launched into the orbit, and billions of naira sunk into the project, NigComSat-1R, has done very little to deepen broadband penetration as promised and has not really played any critical role in the country’s development agenda.

The African Fact-Checking Awards, which is in its third edition, is aimed at honouring the best investigative fact-checking report carried out by African journalists in a given year.

Such reports expose misleading claims made by leading public figures across the continent, thereby holding them accountable to the people.

“We have received 130 entries from more than 20 countries this year, from Morocco and Egypt in the north to South Africa and Zimbabwe in the South,” read a statement on the website of the awards organizers.

The two Nigerians were nominated alongside: Henry Mhara (Zimbabwe); Alphonce Shiundu (Kenya); Arison Tamfu (Cameroon); Charles Mafa and David Julian Wightman (Zambia) and Phathizwe Mongezi Zulu (Swaziland).

The awards ceremony will take place on November 10, in Nairobi, Kenya