FACT CHECK: Did Tinubu mark 69th birthday in 2012?

CLAIM: A user on the Nigerian-owned microblogging platform, Nairaland, on Thursday, posted a screenshot of a report published on Sahara Reporters in 2012, alluding that Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Bola Tinubu, marked his 69th birthday in 2012, while he claims to be 70 in 2022.

VERDICT: False

FULL TEXT

The former Lagos State Governor and Presidential hopeful is a subject of controversy, especially related to the issues of his age, health status, origin, and academic credentials, among others. These have come under heavy scrutiny from his adversaries who argue that the man’s life is a façade. His real parents are not known to the public; neither are his primary and secondary schools’ classmates. Many also posit that he may be older than he claims.

READ ALSO:FACT CHECK: Has Cristiano Ronaldo congratulated Messi after World Cup victory?

The screenshot attached to the post on Nairaland is a report published by Sahara Reporters in 2012. The headline of the report reads, “Lagos State To Cough Up N1 Billion To Fund Tinubu‘s Birthday Celebration”, while the first paragraph reads, “SaharaReporters has learnt that former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Lagos has demanded that the Lagos State government and various local government councils in the state contribute huge sums of cash to fund his 69th birthday celebration.”.

The report insinuates that Tinubu was 69 years old in 2012, ten years ago, and that he marked the same age then.

VERIFICATION

A review of numerous other media reports of Tinubu’s birthday celebration in 2012 showed that the Lagos godfather marked his 60th birthday in 2012. Below are screenshots of reports from other media platforms.

CONCLUSION

While his real age is still a topic for debate, it is a fact that Tinubu ‘marked’ 60 years not 69 in 2012.

By: Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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