Nigeria's 2027 general election is approaching, with incumbent President Bola Tinubu facing 17 opponents. Buba Galadima, a prominent Northern politician, appeared on Channels Television's Politics Today on September 26, 2026, making several claims against the Tinubu-led administration. Galadima addressed issues dominating national discourse, including opaque fiscal expenditures in the downstream petroleum sector and the legal mechanics governing multiparty coalition tickets under the 2022 Electoral Act.
Galadima claimed that the current administration spent N5.1 trillion in 2023 and N7.1 trillion in 2024 on fuel subsidy, referred to as "energy security expenses." According to DUBawa's fact-check, audited financial statements from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) confirmed that the national oil firm recorded fuel under-recoveries under this category. In its consolidated financial reports, NNPCL recorded N4.84 trillion in 2023 and N7.13 trillion in 2024, verifying Galadima's claim.
Galadima also claimed that before the Iran-American military escalation, fuel was retailing in Nigeria at N820 per litre. DUBawa found that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) dispensed at major NNPCL outlets and major marketers hovered between N770 and N820 per litre in early 2026. Following the military conflict, global crude oil benchmarks spiked, driving pump prices up to between N1,200 and N1,650 per litre across different states, verifying Galadima's claim.
Furthermore, Galadima stated that Nigerian electoral law and constitutional provisions prevent opposition parties from fielding a single joint candidate across different party lines on the ballot without a formal merger. According to DUBawa's analysis, the Electoral Act 2026 restricts multi-party cross-endorsement or shared candidacy unless a formal statutory merger occurs. This prevents a party's candidate from legally emerging as the winner of another party's internal candidate selection process, verifying Galadima's claim.
However, Galadima's claim that Bola Tinubu held a private meeting with the INEC chairman alongside prominent Nigerians in France could not be verified due to insufficient evidence. DUBawa found reports indicating that the INEC chairman was in Abuja, presiding over the Commission's National Situation Room operations as of September 20, 2026.
Additionally, Galadima claimed that Nigerians aged 18 to 35 make up 65% of the total registered voter population. However, according to INEC's certified National Register of Voters for the 2023 general elections, individuals aged 18 to 34 accounted for approximately 39.65% of the total voting roll, contradicting Galadima's claim.
In conclusion, DUBawa's fact-check verified some of Galadima's claims, including those related to fuel subsidies and electoral law. However, other claims, such as the alleged meeting between Tinubu and the INEC chairman in France and the voter demographics, were either unverified or contradicted by available data.
