FUNSO DOHERTY CHALLENGES FACT-CHECKERS OVER ₦1.77TN IGR CLAIM

The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Funso Doherty, has challenged the fact-checking of his statement on Lagos State’s internally generated revenue (IGR), following the controversy surrounding claims he made during Sunday’s governorship debate.

Doherty had stated that Lagos generated more internally generated revenue than 31 other Nigerian states combined, citing the state’s ₦1.77 trillion revenue for 2025.

The claim became a subject of scrutiny after independent fact-checkers examined the figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Joint Revenue Board.

However, the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition, in a report published on November 9, ruled Doherty’s claim correct, calculating that the 31 states he referenced collectively generated approximately ₦1.57 trillion, below Lagos State’s ₦1.77 trillion.

The coalition’s comparison excluded Lagos, Rivers, Enugu, Ogun and Delta, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

A separate report by Premium Times presented a different interpretation, describing the claim as false when comparing Lagos with all the other 35 states and the FCT, whose combined IGR stood at approximately ₦3.38 trillion.

The difference highlights an important distinction: Lagos generated more than the 31 states in Doherty’s specific comparison, but not more than all the remaining states combined.

The controversy has drawn attention to the importance of context and accurate interpretation of public financial data as candidates present their records and policy proposals ahead of the 2027 Lagos governorship election.

Doherty was among four candidates who participated in the debate, alongside APC’s Obafemi Hamzat, ADC’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and PDP’s Deji Doherty.