The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress of allegedly planning to undermine the party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna through fake documents, manipulated videos and misinformation.
The council alleged that the opposition intended to circulate doctored and artificial intelligence-generated content to portray the rally as unpopular and discredit President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
The APC PCC spokesperson, Dele Alake, who is also the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, made the allegations in a statement on Saturday, October 24, 2026, ahead of the party’s campaign flag-off in Kaduna.
Alake claimed that the alleged misinformation campaign had already begun circulating online, citing images of security personnel near APC campaign billboards and a purported letter claiming that the Kaduna State Government released ₦2.3 trillion to organise the rally.
“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,” the statement read.
The campaign council alleged that the opposition intended to manipulate public opinion through social media and mainstream news platforms using artificial intelligence, deepfake videos and counterfeit documents.
It further claimed that a photograph of a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard had been presented online as evidence that security personnel were deployed specifically to protect the party’s campaign materials.
According to Alake, the image was taken out of context to suggest that residents were hostile to the APC and that the party required security protection for its billboards.
“Atiku and the ADC propaganda machinery twisted the narrative, claiming the security agents were there to protect the APC billboards in Kaduna,” the statement said.
The council also alleged that a newspaper report concerning the incident was shared on Atiku’s verified social media accounts, accusing the former vice-president of helping to amplify what it described as misleading information.
However, the statement did not provide independent evidence establishing that Atiku or the ADC had coordinated the alleged campaign.
The APC PCC also challenged the authenticity of a purported letter attributed to Governor Uba Sani and allegedly addressed to the council’s Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari.
The document reportedly claimed that the Kaduna State Government had released ₦2.3 trillion to host the presidential campaign rally.
Describing the alleged expenditure as implausible, Alake argued that the amount exceeded Kaduna State’s annual budget and questioned how the state could commit such a sum to a political event.
“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 statement queried.
The council cited Kaduna State’s budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 as ₦458.271 billion, ₦790.439 billion and approximately ₦985.9 billion, respectively, arguing that their combined value remained below the alleged ₦2.3 trillion expenditure.
Alake further alleged that old, altered and AI-generated videos could be circulated during the rally to create the impression that residents were opposed to the APC and its presidential candidate.
“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,” the statement added.
The council urged Nigerians to exercise caution when consuming political content online, particularly videos, photographs and official-looking documents whose authenticity had not been independently established.
“We hereby use this opportunity to alert the general public about this malicious and ignoble plan,” Alake said.
The allegations came amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the APC using its Kaduna campaign flag-off to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The accusations against Atiku and the ADC were presented by the APC campaign council; the statement did not include a response from either the former vice-president or the opposition party.
