By Palma Ileye
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 the party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna.
The council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, made the allegation in a statement on Saturday, October 24, 2026, claiming that the opposition was using fake news, doctored documents and artificial intelligence-generated content to mislead Nigerians.
Alake alleged that the purported campaign was aimed at discrediting President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
He cited the circulation of a photograph of a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna, which he claimed was misrepresented as evidence that security personnel had been deployed to protect the party’s billboards.
According to him, the photograph was subsequently used in a newspaper report, which Atiku allegedly shared on his official social media accounts to generate public attention.
The APC spokesperson also questioned the authenticity of a purported letter circulating online, allegedly written by Governor Uba Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, concerning the release of N2.3 trillion by the Kaduna State Government to host the rally.
Describing the alleged expenditure as false, Alake said the amount exceeded the state’s annual budgets for three consecutive years.
He cited Kaduna State’s budgets of N458.271 billion for 2024, N790.439 billion for 2025 and N985.9 billion for 2026, arguing that their combined value was still below N2.3 trillion.
Alake further alleged that old footage, doctored videos and deepfake content could be circulated during the rally to create the impression that residents were opposed to the APC.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and scrutinise information circulating on social media and other platforms.
The APC spokesperson also accused Atiku and the ADC of resorting to propaganda in their pursuit of political power.
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 independent evidence establishing the opposition’s alleged involvement in the purported disinformation campaign.
