FACT CHECK: Is Mrs Ireti Kingibe the first elected female senator for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)?

CLAIM: The Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi tweeted that the FCT Senator-Elect, Ireti Kingibe is the first female senator who will be representing the Federal Capital Territory.

The tweet read “A very hearty congratulations to Senator-elect Mrs @ireti_kingibe; the first elected female senator for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Her election is in keeping with our commitment to women and youth”.

As of the time of writing this report, the tweet has generated more than 6000 retweets, 23,500 likes and 910 comments.

VERDICT: FALSE

Sen. Khairat Abdul Razaq Gwadabe is the first female senator to represent the Federal Capital Territory. She was in the Senate between 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2003. Senator Gwadabe contested under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PD). She was a member of several committees which include Environment, Health, Women Affairs (chairman), Federal Character, Tourism & Culture and Federal Capital Territory.

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