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  • 2019-02-20 (xsd:date)
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  • No, this video does not show that a Nigerian politician has just switched from the opposition to the ruling party (en)
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  • A video being shared online in Nigeria claims that Femi Fani-Kayode, an ex-aviation minister, left the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a few days before a postponed presidential election. However, the video was recorded over five years ago. Fani-Kayode confirmed to AFP that he remains a member of the PDP. The post, by Facebook user Tukur Yerima , was shared nearly 8,000 times, and viewed more than 121,000 times. It reads Breaking News... 48 Hours to Presidential election, a chieftain of PDP, Mr Femi Fani Kayode defect to APC. The post claims Fani-Kayode said PDP is a sinking ship and advised Nigerians to join hand with Buhari, Tinubu, El-Rufa'i, to move Nigeria forward to the Next Level. Screenshot taken on February 20, 2019, showing a post, which claims Fani-Kayode has joined the APC However, although the video does show Fani-Kayode, who also served as spokesman for the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation in 2015, the politician has not left the party now as claimed. AFP analysis using InVid, an online video verification tool, and other reverse image search tools, showed the clip was part of a 12-minute video posted on YouTube more than five years ago. In 2013, Fani-Kayode joined the APC, which was the main opposition at the time, and he then claimed the PDP was a sinking ship, following a notorious governors' forum vote where the candidate with the fewest votes was declared winner. Screenshot taken on February 20, 2019, showing the original video of Fani-Kayode annoucing his departure from PDP in 2013 Fani-Kayode left the APC for the then-ruling PDP in 2014, serving on the campaign team of former president Goodluck Jonathan. He has since remained in the PDP, and stayed a strong critic of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. He has continually expressed his support for Atiku Abubakar, Buhari’s prime challenger for the February 23 presidential election. Fani-Kayode told AFP on Wednesday that it was ridiculous for anyone to ask if he was still a member of the PDP, stating that his posts on his Facebook account and his recent interviews had made that clear. It is quite common for Nigerian politicians to switch parties in the build up to a presidential election. In July 2018, then senate president Bukola Saraki left the ruling APC to join the PDP, a party he had previously belonged to. At least 50 members of Nigeria’s federal parliament have switched parties in the past year. Presidential and parliamentary elections were postponed just hours before polling last Saturday, with logistical difficulties blamed for the distribution of sensitive electoral materials. (en)
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