By Chesa Chesa
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of orchestrating a disinformation campaign to discredit the party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday.
The council alleged that Atiku and the ADC planned to circulate fake news, doctored videos, deepfakes and counterfeit documents to undermine President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, said the alleged campaign involved the use of artificial intelligence and social media platforms to spread misleading information about the rally.
Alake cited a photograph of a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna, which he said was misrepresented as evidence that security agents had been deployed to protect the party’s billboards.
He alleged that the narrative was subsequently published by a national newspaper and amplified by Atiku through his official social media accounts.
The APC campaign council also accused the former vice-president and ADC supporters of circulating a purported letter from Governor Uba Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari.
According to Alake, the document claimed that the Kaduna State Government had released N2.3 trillion to host the APC rally.
He dismissed the reported figure as implausible, citing Kaduna State’s budget figures for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
“The combined Kaduna State budgets for 2024 (N458.271 billion), 2025 (N790.439 billion), and 2026 (N985.9 billion) are still less than N2.3 trillion,” he said.
Alake further alleged that the ADC and Atiku’s supporters planned to circulate old, doctored and deepfake videos during the rally to create the impression that residents were opposed to the APC campaign.
“We hereby use this opportunity to alert the general public about this malicious and ignoble plan,” he said.
The spokesperson urged Nigerians to remain vigilant against what he described as attempts to manipulate public opinion through misinformation.
He also criticised Atiku and the ADC, accusing them of resorting to questionable tactics in their bid to gain political power.
