The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of plotting to discredit the party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna through alleged fake news and manipulated digital content.
The council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, made the allegation in a statement on Saturday, claiming that Atiku and the ADC planned to use artificial intelligence, deepfake videos and counterfeit documents to undermine President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
Alake said the alleged campaign began with the circulation of a photograph of a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis.
He accused the opposition of twisting the narrative by claiming that security personnel had been deployed to protect the party’s billboards.
“Atiku and the ADC propaganda machinery twisted the narrative, claiming the security agents were there to protect the APC billboards in Kaduna,” he said.
Alake further alleged that Atiku amplified the report on his official social media accounts after it was published by a national newspaper.
The APC spokesperson also accused the opposition of circulating a purported letter from Governor Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, claiming that the state government had released N2.3 trillion to host the rally.
Dismissing the alleged letter as false, Alake questioned the plausibility of the amount, given the state’s budget figures.
“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.