“This man said in broad daylight that he would ‘reduce the purchasing power of the people, slow down the economy and widen the tax net,’ and you voted him in?”.
This is the caption circulating in a video on Facebook and other platforms, which is being shared with the claim that it shows Nigerian President Bola Tinubu during his 2023 presidential campaign.
In the video, Tinubu appears to be delivering a speech at an event. The footage, resembling a television broadcast, is titled “11th Bola Tinubu Colloquium.”
Read Also: Fact Check On Viral Photo Allegedly Showing Tinubu On Hospital Bed
He says: “We reduce the purchasing power of the people, we can further slow down the economy, let’s widen the tax net. Those who are not paying now, if it is inclusive of Bola Tinubu, let the net get bigger and we take in more taxes. That is what we must do.”
Other posts don’t include the video but make the same claim about Tinubu’s statements during his campaigning. One reads: “Tinubu never lied to Nigerians during the campaign, he boldly said ‘I will reduce the purchasing power of the people, further slow down the economy and widen the tax net.’ He was being real and he never faked his manifestos.”
Following recent setbacks in Nigeria’s economy, including financial hardship and fuel scarcity, many Nigerians have been struggling to make ends meet. There is widespread frustration and a sense of betrayal, particularly towards the federal government and the president.
The video has been shared on Facebook here and here and on X here, here and here. (Note: See other instances listed at the end of this report.)
But did Tinubu really promise to “reduce the purchasing power of the people, slow down the economy and widen the tax net” while campaigning? We checked.
Video edited
To fact-check the claim, Africa Check captured screenshots from the video and uploaded them to Google Lens, an image verification tool.
Our search led us to a YouTube video of the same event, titled Bola Tinubu Colloquium 2019.
The annual colloquium, established during Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State, serves as a platform for sharing insights on socio-economic and governance issues. The first edition took place in 2009.
In the video, Tinubu is seen addressing the then vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, urging him not to raise the value-added tax (VAT) in order to protect the purchasing power of the people and avoid further economic slowdown.
He makes no reference to any campaign promises.
We found the video on Channels TV’s YouTube channel, as well as here and here.
This confirmed that the version of the video circulating on social media had been manipulated and edited to align with many Nigerians’ frustrations about the economy under Tinubu.
In reality, the video shows Tinubu making an appeal to the former vice president in 2019.
The same video and other versions of the claim can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Credit: Africa Check
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