A viral video purportedly showing the current governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, caught in an affair with a woman has surfaced online ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.
In the video, a woman grabs the man by his collar, calling him derogatory names, while another woman holding a camera threatens to release the footage on social media and show the video to his wife.
An X user, @davetorty, posted the video with a caption that read:
“This is the Ondo State governor in London, having a real brawl with a side chic! What a shame!
Men, honour Urselves! The real plan of the strange woman, spiritually and physically is to bring U down! Make thy loins tight! Keep thy prestige!”
The video has garnered over 700,000 views plus more than 2,000 reposts and over 2,500 likes as of October 13, 2024.
Another X user, @whatsappblog9ja, posted the video with a caption thus:
“Viral video of Ondo State sitting governor in London, having a real brawl with a side chic.”
CLAIM
Video shows Ondo governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa caught in an affair with a woman.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Our fact-checker analysed the video using some keyframes obtained from it. The results show that while the man shares a striking resemblance with Governor Aiyedatiwa, some facial features distinguish them.
For instance, the man in the video is gap-toothed, while Aiyedatiwa is not. Their nose shapes also differ. Aiyedatiwa has a wider nose bridge with a more rounded tip, while the man’s nose seems narrower, with a sharper tip.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State government through Allen Sowore, a media aide to the governor had debunked the claim. In a statement , he said the video is a ploy to tarnish Aiyedatiwa’s image ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.
Sowore pointed out several differences between the facial and vocal features of the man in the video and those of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
He clarified that for the benefit of unsuspecting public, it was important to make clear that the man in the video was not the Ondo State governor.
He explained that a closer look at the video showed noticeable differences: Governor Aiyedatiwa no longer wears the type of beard seen on the man in the clip, having changed his appearance over a year ago and the voices of the two men are distinct, with the individual in the video speaking loudly and in a tone different from the governor’s.
He added that Aiyedatiwa has never worked in the United Kingdom, as suggested in the video; and that while the governor has an oval face, the man in the video has a round face.
“The public is encouraged to carefully examine the video and notice these clear distinctions before arriving at the erroneous conclusion that the man in the video is Governor Aiyedatiwa,” he added.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Ondo governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa caught in an affair with a woman in London is FALSE; facial evidence, as observed, shows that the man in the video is not Aiyedatiwa.
This fact-check was republished by The FactCheckHub. The original article can be read here.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.