NDC Lagos candidate disputes fact‑checkers over N1.77 trillion revenue claim

Funso Doherty, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Lagos governorship, publicly contested the assessment made by fact‑checkers during the recent Lagos Governorship Debate. In a post on the social platform X, Doherty argued that the fact‑checkers incorrectly challenged his claim that Lagos State’s internally generated revenue (IGR) exceeded the combined revenue of 31 other states. He said the figure he cited – N1.77 trillion for Lagos in 2025 – came from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and that the 31 states together generated N1.73 trillion, making Lagos the top‑earning state.

Doherty demanded an apology, stating that the fact‑checkers had misrepresented his data. He also provided a list of the states and their respective revenue figures, referencing the NBS micro‑data portal as his source. The disagreement emerged following a debate organized by the Nigeria Debate Consortium—a collaboration of The PUNCH, Channels Television, TVC News, TheCable and Vanguard Newspaper—before the 2027 Lagos gubernatorial election.

Background

The debate featured candidates presenting their platforms on how to address Lagos’s challenges. In his opening remarks, Doherty highlighted that Lagos’s difficulties were not due to a lack of financial resources but to the perceived failure of successive administrations to translate the state’s high revenue into improved public services. He cited the revenue comparison to challenge the provision of healthcare, education and other vital services, observing that citizens still suffered from insufficient government support even though the state earned substantial sums.

According to the NBS report for 2025, Lagos generated approximately N1.77 trillion, the highest among Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The same report listed the combined IGR of all states and the FCT at N5.15 trillion. The Nigerian Fact‑checkers’ Coalition later published a breakdown showing the combined revenue of the 31 states at about N1.574 trillion and rated Doherty’s central claim – that Lagos earned more than those 31 states combined – as correct.

Why it matters

The disagreement touches on the credibility of political statements ahead of a critical election and on public perception of Lagos’s fiscal capacity. If Lagos indeed generates more revenue than the majority of other states, the argument that the state’s problems stem from misallocation rather than scarcity gains weight. This could influence voter expectations regarding service delivery and fiscal accountability. The fact‑checkers’ assessment, and Doherty’s challenge, also highlight the role of data verification in political debates, potentially affecting how candidates frame economic arguments.

What happens next

The fact‑checkers have not issued a formal apology, and no further statements from the Nigerian Fact‑checkers’ Coalition have been reported. The debate and the surrounding controversy are set to continue influencing campaign narratives as the 2027 Lagos governorship election approaches.