The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of allegedly spreading misinformation to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna State.
The council claimed that the opposition intended to use artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfake videos, altered documents and misleading reports to portray the rally as unpopular and damage the reputations of Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
In a statement issued on Friday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, highlighted two incidents he described as part of an alleged effort to manipulate public perception ahead of the campaign event.
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The incidents involved a security vehicle reportedly spotted near an APC campaign billboard and a letter circulating online that purportedly claimed the Kaduna State Government had released ₦2.3 trillion to fund the rally.
Alake alleged that an image of a security vehicle on routine patrol near the billboard was circulated alongside claims that security personnel had been deployed to protect the ruling party’s campaign materials.
He further claimed that a national newspaper published a report on the incident, which Atiku subsequently shared on his official social media accounts, thereby giving wider publicity to the allegation.
The APC campaign council also questioned the authenticity of a purported letter attributed to Governor Uba Sani and addressed to Abdulaziz Yari, Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. The document allegedly stated that the state government had approved ₦2.3 trillion for the Kaduna rally.
Alake rejected the reported figure, arguing that it was inconsistent with the state’s annual budget estimates for recent years.
According to him, Kaduna State’s budgets stood at ₦458.271 billion in 2024, ₦790.439 billion in 2025 and ₦985.9 billion in 2026. He maintained that the alleged rally expenditure was implausible when compared with these figures.
“The ₦2.3 trillion that Atiku and his hirelings are circulating online is more than Kaduna State’s annual budget for three years,” Alake said.
The spokesperson also warned that old video footage, edited clips and deepfake content could emerge during the rally to create a false impression that residents were rejecting the APC’s campaign.
“We know these two scenarios are only a part of the grand plan,” he said, calling on Nigerians to exercise caution and verify information circulating on social media.
The council accused Atiku and the ADC of attempting to weaken the ruling party’s campaign through disinformation. However, its statement did not present independent evidence establishing that Atiku or the ADC had directed the alleged activities.
Alake urged Nigerians to disregard what he described as opposition “machinations” as the APC proceeded with its presidential campaign activities in Kaduna State.
