FACT CHECK: Did Lai say Davido’s fundraiser succeeded due to Buhari’s economic policies?

A claim which quoted Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, saying the recent fundraiser by Davido, the music star, was successful owing to the “positive economic policies” of President Muhammadu Buhari has surfaced online.

On Wednesday, the singer, born David Adeleke, had taken to his Twitter page to ask his followers and friends to send him money. The musician had initially claimed that he was soliciting funds to facilitate the clearance of his Rolls Royce, an automobile brand, at the ports. He had announced a target of N100 million for the fundraiser to achieve the said objective.

On Saturday — about three days after he launched the fundraiser — the ‘OBO’ singer declared that he had received a total of N200 million from people in a statement. The musician, however, said he would be giving away the N200 million earnings from the fundraiser to orphanages across the country and to support the fight against drug abuse.

Amid the reactions trailing the development, the information minister was said to have claimed that the success of the singer’s fundraiser was not unconnected to Buhari’s economic initiatives.

The viral claim also quoted Mohammed as saying such an initiative would not have recorded such progress under the 16-year administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“As you can see, Davido was able to raise over N100 million in less than 5 hours because of the positive economic policies of President Buhari. It never happened under 16 years of PDP,” the quote attributed to the minister read.

The quote has been shared by several individuals and groups on Facebook and Twitter as can be seen here and here.

For instance, Nigeria Youth Movement, with over 23,000 followers, shared the post via its Facebook page. The post has garnered over 56 comments, 15 shares and over 100 likes.

Political Affairs international, a group with over 94,000 followers on Facebook, also shared the claim on its page. The post currently has over 135 comments, 29 shares and 176 likes.

Aji Bussu, a Twitter user, with over 33,000 followers, also shared the post. His post has 47 retweets and 127 likes.  

"As you can see, Davido was able to raise over ₦100m in less than 5hrs because of the positive economic policies of President Buhari. It never happened under 16 years of PDP". pic.twitter.com/Hj4m8gFsyg

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— Aji Bussu Onye Mpiawa azụ 🇨🇮 (@AfamDeluxo) November 17, 2021

"As you can see, Davido was able to raise over ₦100m in less than 5hrs because of the positive economic policies of President Buhari. It never happened under 16 years of PDP". pic.twitter.com/7gI2Cod386

— Life® (@kdaniels010) November 18, 2021

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https://twitter.com/TD_Iyke/status/1461318260612288523?s=20

But Did Lai actually say such?

Using keyword search on Google, TheCable checked the veracity of the viral claim. Findings showed there was no evidence that the minister made the statement. The social media users did not also state where and when the minister uttered the statement.

Further checks showed that the claim is only being circulated on blogs; there was no mention of such in any of the traditional media outlets in the country. Also, the minister does not operate verified social media accounts. 

VERDICT: The claim that Lai Mohammed said Davido’s fundraiser succeeded because of Buhari’s positive economic policies is false.