The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress of trying to damage the party's presidential campaign kickoff in Kaduna.
The council says the opposition plans to use deepfake videos, fake documents, and false information to achieve this.
Dele Alake, the APC PCC spokesperson and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, made this claim in a statement on Saturday. He said Atiku and the ADC are using propaganda to mislead the public and sway opinions ahead of the rally.
The APC presidential campaign kickoff is set for 10am on Saturday in Kaduna State. A letter is circulating, claiming that the state government has released more than ₦2 trillion for the rally.
Pictures and videos online also suggest that security personnel have been assigned to protect APC billboards amid alleged anger from residents.
Some of these videos were posted on Atiku’s verified social media accounts.
In response, Alake claimed the plot involved sharing a photo of a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard. He said it falsely shows the security personnel as protecting the billboard.
He also accused the opposition of spreading a fake letter, supposedly from Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, which claims that the state government allocated ₦2.3 trillion to host the rally.
The APC PCC stated, "We have uncovered a well-orchestrated, devious plan by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his party to discredit the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna today, Saturday, October 24th, 2026."
"Through subterfuge and mindless propaganda, the former Vice President and the African Democratic Congress have perfected their plans to misinform and disinform the public, manipulate public opinion through fake news operations and planting of false news in mainstream news platforms and social media with the use of Artificial Intelligence, deepfake videos, and counterfeit documents, all in a bid to discredit the APC rally in Kaduna, President Bola Tinubu, Governor Uba Sani, and leaders of our party."
"In the last 24 hours, we have seen these tactics deployed to mislead the unsuspecting public. It began with the mischievous release of a picture of a security vehicle on a routine patrol, innocuously stationed at a junction near one of APC’s numerous campaign billboards in Kaduna metropolis."
"Atiku and the ADC propaganda machinery twisted the narrative, claiming the security agents were there to protect the APC billboards in Kaduna. They then planted the story in a national newspaper known for its anti-government and anti-APC editorial stance."
The APC PCC also mentioned that Atiku shared a newspaper report it called false and misleading on his official social media accounts to gain attention and increase online engagement.
The council accused Atiku and ADC supporters of distributing a letter that was allegedly written by Uba Sani to the APC PCC Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, claiming that the state government released ₦2.3 trillion to host the party’s campaign rally.
The statement read, "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 ₦2.3 trillion to host a rally?"
"The ₦2.3 trillion that Atiku and his hirelings are circulating online is more than Kaduna State’s annual budget for three years. For context, the combined Kaduna State budgets for 2024 (₦458.271 billion), 2025 (₦790.439 billion), and 2026 (₦985.9 billion) are still less than ₦2.3 trillion."
"We know these two scenarios are only a part of the grand plan. The ADC and Atiku’s hirelings have also perfected plans to circulate old, doctored, and deepfake videos as the rally gets underway later today to show purported resentment by the people."
"We hereby use this opportunity to alert the general public about this malicious and ignoble plan."
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