FACT CHECK: Does this image show Ambode, Aregbesola in fresh third force coalition?

An image showing Akinwunmi Ambode, former governor of Lagos, and Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, flanked by two other men has been recently shared on Facebook and WhatsApp,  alongside claims that it shows the duo in a fresh ‘third force’ coalition ahead of 2023 elections.

The other two men in the picture are Najeem Salam, former speaker of the Osun state House of Assembly,  and Gboyega Famodun, Osun state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

The picture has been shared multiple times on WhatsApp with the caption: “Veno News: Again, ‘Third Force’ coalition plans big ahead 2023  in Osun and Lagos”.

A Google search for “Veno News” yielded no results related to the image above.

Does the image show Ambode and Aregbesola in a fresh coalition?

Using Yandex, a digital tool used to discover the source of a picture and visually similar images from around the web, multiple reverse image searches of the image, showed that the picture has been on the internet as early as 2018. 

The result showed that the image was posted by Aregbesola on his verified Twitter handle on June 9, 2018, with the caption “I was in Lagos today to meet with governor @AkinwunmiAmbode. Very successful deliberations.”

I was in Lagos today to meet with Governor @AkinwunmiAmbode. Very successful deliberations. pic.twitter.com/ckqnE8tq18

— Rauf Aregbesola (@raufaregbesola) June 9, 2018

As of June 9, 2018, Ambode and Aregbesola were governors of Lagos and Osun.

VERDICT

The result of the analysis carried out on the picture shows it had been on the internet since 2018, and could not have been a recent image of a coalition ahead of the 2023 election in Lagos and Osun as claimed.