FACT CHECK: Did Buhari donate $500m to the Clinton campaign?

A video has been making the round on social media, and off it, that President Muhammadu Buhari donated $500 million to the Hillary Clinton campaign in the US election.

“A US non-governmental group, the American Black Group for Democracy has revealed  that the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari’s government plunged  $500 million (About N150 billion) into the failed Hillary Clinton electioneering campaign fund,” the video claims.

“The Nigeria integrity challenged President, wasted no time in releasing the funds he reportedly pledged to the US secretary of states, Sen John Kerry and US Ambassador in Abuja to support of Mrs Clinton election.”

First, the video is a product of an article, simply read by a text-to-speech simulation application, which is common to many smartphones across the world. The producers wanted an American voice to make it sound like it was a news report from an American TV station.

But it pronounces N150 billion as “N” 150 billion as against “150 billion naira” – a clear indication that it was not a human being that was reading the news.

Checks by TheCable revealed the video as false on virtually all points made.

FACT 1: THE GROUP ‘USED’ DOES NOT EXIST

The major claim in the video was a $500 million donation to the Clinton campaign, through the American Black Group for Democracy.

There are a number of Black American or African-American groups in support of democracy and its ideals, but there exist no records of an American Black Group for Democracy.

According to the encyclopedia of Arkansas history and culture, there is a group, which goes by the name Black Americans for Democracy (BAD), which is predominantly run by African-American students in the US.

The group was formed after the death of Martin Luther King Junior to defend the rights of black students in the US.

FACT 2: IT’S AN OFFENCE FOR FOREIGNERS TO DONATE

According to US laws, as stipulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), it is prohibited for a foreigner to donate to elections in the US.

“Foreign nationals are prohibited from making any contributions or expenditures in connection with any election in the U.S.,” the commission states categorically.

FACT 3: BUHARI CANNOT DONATE VIA FUNDRAISING PLATFORM

President Buhari or any member of cannot donate to the Clinton campaign via her fundraising platform.

The platform states that a the donor must be a “U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident of the U.S., making contribution on a personal card with personal funds”.

If Buhari donates to the campaign via the platform, it would be public knowledge.

FACT 4: NO ONE CAN DONATE MORE THAN $100,200

No American or American committee can donate more than $100,200 to a political campaign in the US in a year.

The Federal Election Commission clearly states that the highest an individual can donate to a candidate in an election year is $2,700, while a committee can donate only $5,000.

National party committees, which receive and give out the largest donations, can only give $100,200 per year.

FACT 5: CLINTON RAISED LITTLE ABOVE $500M

In the US, candidates are expected to provide the names and address of any individual who donates more than $200 to any candidate’s campaign to ensure proper tracing and records.

According to the records provided by Reuters, Washington Post, OpenSecrets, and Bloomberg, the Clinton campaign raised a little over $500 million in donations.

Reuters says Clinton raised a minimum of $521 million, while Washington Post posits that the Democratic Party candidate raised $556 million.

Bloomberg puts her fundraising, which includes campaign and joint fundraising committees, at $866.6 million.

CONCLUSION: For the video to be true, it would mean President Muhammadu Buhari literally bank-rolled the entire Clinton campaign illegally, which is totally false, considering publicly available and verifiable data by the US government and the global media.