The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress of orchestrating a disinformation campaign to undermine its presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson, Dele Alake, alleged that the opposition planned to circulate fake news, doctored videos and fabricated documents to discredit President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other party leaders.
Alake made the allegations in a statement on Saturday, warning Nigerians to be wary of misleading reports surrounding the rally.
He cited two incidents in the preceding 24 hours, which he claimed were part of a coordinated effort to portray the ruling party and its campaign activities negatively.
According to him, the first involved a photograph of a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis.
He alleged that the photograph was presented misleadingly to suggest that security personnel had been deployed to protect the party’s billboards.
Alake further claimed that a national newspaper published the account before Atiku shared it on his official social media handles.
The APC spokesman described the development as a deliberate attempt to manipulate public opinion ahead of the campaign event.
He also alleged that a purported letter from Governor Uba Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, was circulated online.
The document allegedly claimed that the Kaduna State Government had released N2.3tn to host the rally.
Dismissing the claim, Alake questioned the plausibility of the figure, arguing that it exceeded the state’s annual budget.
“How much is the entire annual revenue of Kaduna State, or any state, for that matter, that a state would spend N2.3 trillion to host a rally?” he asked.
He said the combined Kaduna State budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 amounted to less than the alleged expenditure.
According to the figures he provided, the state budgeted N458.271bn in 2024, N790.439bn in 2025 and N985.9bn in 2026.
Alake said the figures demonstrated what he described as the baseless nature of the allegation concerning the cost of hosting the rally.
He further alleged that old footage, manipulated videos and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes could be circulated during the event to create the impression that residents were opposed to the APC campaign.
The spokesman, however, did not provide independent evidence in the statement to substantiate his allegations against Atiku and the ADC.
He urged members of the public to verify information before sharing reports and videos relating to the rally.
“We hereby use this opportunity to alert the general public about this malicious and ignoble plan,” Alake said.
He also launched a political attack on Atiku and the ADC, questioning their electoral prospects and accusing them of pursuing power through what he described as desperate tactics.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
