APC accuses Atiku, ADC of plot to discredit Tinubu’s Kaduna campaign flag-off

President Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, of planning to discredit the ruling party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna today.

The allegation was contained in a statement signed by Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

The council alleged that Atiku and the ADC had deployed what it described as “fake news operations,” including artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfake videos and counterfeit documents, to discredit President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.

The council said the alleged campaign began with the circulation of a photograph showing a security vehicle stationed near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna.

According to the APC, the photograph was presented as evidence that security agents had been deployed to protect the party’s billboards.

The council also alleged that a purported letter from Mr Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, claiming that the Kaduna State Government released N2.3 trillion to host the rally, was fabricated.

The APC described the claim as “utterly baseless,” noting that Kaduna State’s budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 amounted to less than N2.3 trillion.

“We are still at a loss as to how anyone can imagine and concoct this senseless and utterly baseless lie that defies logic and basic common sense. 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?

“The N2.3 trillion that Atiku and his hirelings are circulating online is more than Kaduna State’s annual budget for three years,” the statement said.

The APC alleged that the figures were intended to create a negative impression about the cost of hosting the rally.

It further accused the opposition of planning 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,” the council said.

The APC also urged Nigerians to be vigilant and reject what it described as attempts to manipulate public opinion ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The allegations were made as the APC begins its presidential campaign for the 2027 election with a flag-off rally in Kaduna today.

President Bola Tinubu is expected to attend the rally at the Kaduna Township Stadium, where the party is expected to mobilise supporters from across the country. The APC had earlier announced Kaduna as the starting point of its nationwide campaign programme.

The Kaduna APC has said it is targeting a large turnout for the event, while a support group, Arewa for Asiwaju, said it plans to mobilise 10,000 supporters from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The party’s campaign council has said the Kaduna rally will mark the formal commencement of its drive to secure Mr Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, with subsequent presidential rallies scheduled across the country.

The APC’s proposed itinerary includes rallies in Rivers State on 7 November, Plateau on 14 November, Oyo on 21 November, Borno on 25 November, Enugu on 28 November and Bauchi on 29 November, among other states.