Vice Presidential Debate: The Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], Vice Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi and his counterpart in All Progressives Congress, [APC], Yemi Osinbajo both stole the show as they battled each other at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
Other Vice Presidential candidates at the debate include, Umar Getso of the Young Progressives Party (YPP);Alhaji Abdulganiyu Galadima Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, (ACPN);Khadijah Abdullahi-Iya of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN).
Today the internet is abuzz with uploads of memes, quotes, short videos, other form of excerpts from the debate session and Nigerians themselves have taken over the heated conversation by citing some of the statistics doled out by the several vice presidential candidates to support their arguments who should be Nigeria’s next VP.
Here is a roundup by TheNewsGuru, TNG of 10 controversial claims that were made by the major contenders [Obi and Osinbajo] as well as several goofs from the other aspirants.
1.
CLAIM: There are about two million vehicles in Nigeria – Peter Obi
FALSE: The the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said at Q3 2017, Nigeria had about 11,547,236 motor vehicles in the country.
2.
CLAIM: Ease of Doing Business: Nigeria went down by 64 places under PDP – Osinbajo
FALSE: Nigeria went down by 50 and not 64, actual decline margin is from 120 to 170 between 2008 and 2015, under PDP rule.
3.
CLAIM: Oil give you 80% of foreign exchange earnings – Peter Obi
FALSE: A report published by NBS in 2017 showed that Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings from the oil sector is above 90%.
4.
CLAIM: We produce 90% of the rice we consumer- Yemi Osinbajo
UNVERIFIED: While this statement has generated lots of debates online, TNG is yet to verify the validity.
5.
CLAIM: Bag of fertiliser now sells for N6,000 to N7,000 – Osinbajo
TRUE: Price of fertiliser in Nigeria has experienced a drastic drop following the Nigeria-Morroco fertiliser deal. As at 2016, a bag of fertiliser sold above N10,000
6
CLAIM : Nigeria has fallen on the global competitive index from 124 to 127 – PETER OBI
FALSE: A recent report published in 2018 World Economic Forum, shows Nigeria rose on the index by 10 places.
7.
CLAIM: To bring out goods from Apapa cost more than it takes to bring goods from Europe
INVALID: Large scale importations into Nigeria are done through Apapa ports, goods from Europe follow the same passage. Maybe this statement from Peter Obi is just a satire.
8.
CLAIM: Nigerian Airways was one of the largest in the world – UMMA GESTO
FALSE: Nigerian Airways was managed by a number of foreign companies, including British Airways, the Dutch company KLM and South African Airways as such, the airline was never at a time rate as one of the largest in the world when adjudged on revenue generation, staff strength or numbers of air crafts operated.
9.
CLAIM : African trade today is less than 9 percent – Peter Obi
False. According to Afriexim Bank, Intra-Africa trade is around 15 percent. In 2016, intra-African exports made up 18 percent of total exports according to Brookings Institution.
10.
CLAIM : We have four refineries in Nigeria, and none is working – GALADIMA
FALSE: According to reports from the NNPC, refineries in Nigeria are not totally shutdown, they are said to be working at sub-optimal levels.