The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has claimed that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress are organizing a smear campaign to undermine the party’s upcoming presidential flag-off event in Kaduna.
The council alleged that the opposition planned to deploy artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfake videos, doctored footage and counterfeit documents to undermine President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, said the alleged campaign began with the circulation of a photograph showing a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis.
According to Alake, opposition supporters allegedly misrepresented the photograph as evidence that security agents had been deployed to protect APC billboards.
He further claimed that a national newspaper published the account before Atiku shared it on his official social media handles, describing the sequence as a coordinated attempt to amplify the allegation.
The council also accused the former vice-president and the ADC of circulating a purported letter allegedly written by Governor Uba Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari.
The alleged letter reportedly claimed that the Kaduna State Government had released N2.3 trillion to host the APC rally.
Alake dismissed the figure as fabricated, arguing that it was inconsistent with the state’s annual budget.
“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.
The APC spokesperson said Kaduna State’s budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 stood at N458.271 billion, N790.439 billion and N985.9 billion, respectively.
He noted that the combined budgets for the three years amounted to less than N2.3 trillion, which he said underscored the implausibility of the allegation.
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 campaign.
“We hereby use this opportunity to alert the general public about this malicious and ignoble plan,” Alake said.
He accused Atiku and the ADC of resorting to what he described as desperate tactics in their quest for political power and urged Nigerians to remain vigilant against disinformation.
“It is a fact that Atiku Abubakar and the ADC, his special-purpose vehicle, are incapable of winning any election,” he said.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council called on Nigerians to reject what it described as attempts to manipulate public opinion ahead of the 2027 general election.
The allegations were contained in a statement signed by Alake on October 24, 2026.
What You Should Know
The All Progressives Congress has raised alarms over an alleged coordinated plot by the opposition, led by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress, to use artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and forged documents to tarnish its upcoming campaign flag-off in Kaduna State.
- Potential Concerns: The rise of deepfakes and doctored documents in political campaigns threatens to mislead the public, deepen political tension, and heighten polarization ahead of the general elections.
- What It Means for Readers: Citizens are urged to remain vigilant and skeptical of unverified social media claims, doctored videos, and sensational financial allegations designed to manipulate public opinion.
