By Dennis Okechukwu
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of allegedly plotting to discredit President Bola Tinubu and the party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna.
The council, in a press statement issued on Saturday, October 24, 2026, alleged that Atiku and the ADC were deploying fake news, artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfake videos and counterfeit documents to manipulate public opinion ahead of the rally.
The statement, signed by the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, claimed that the alleged campaign was designed to discredit Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
According to Alake, the alleged disinformation campaign began with the circulation of a photograph showing a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis.
He claimed that the photograph was presented in a misleading manner to suggest that security personnel had been deployed to protect APC billboards.
The council further alleged that the narrative was published by a national newspaper before Atiku shared the report on his official social media accounts.
Alake described the development as part of a coordinated effort to generate negative publicity against the ruling party ahead of its campaign rally.
The APC campaign council also raised concerns over a purported letter circulating online, allegedly written by Governor Uba Sani and addressed to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari.
The purported letter reportedly claimed that the Kaduna State Government had released N2.3 trillion to host the APC rally.
Dismissing the claim as false and baseless, Alake questioned the plausibility of a state government spending such an amount on a political rally.
He said the combined Kaduna State budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 amounted to N2.234 trillion, comprising N458.271 billion, N790.439 billion and N985.9 billion, respectively.
The APC spokesperson argued that the alleged N2.3 trillion expenditure was greater than the state’s combined budgets for the three years.
The council further alleged that old footage, doctored videos and deepfake content would be circulated during the rally to create the impression that residents were opposed to the APC and its leadership.
It urged Nigerians to exercise caution and verify information circulating on social media and other platforms.
The statement also criticised Atiku and the ADC, accusing them of resorting to what it described as desperate tactics in their pursuit of political power.
Alake urged Nigerians to reject what he called attempts to mislead the public and undermine the APC’s campaign activities.
However, the allegations against Atiku and the ADC were claims made by the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the statement. The statement did not provide independently verifiable evidence establishing that Atiku or the ADC had orchestrated the alleged disinformation campaign.