ADC Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar
African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has dismissed allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that it was behind alleged fake letters and manipulated videos targeting President Bola Tinubu, insisting that no amount of propaganda can erase the economic hardship Nigerians are experiencing.
The opposition party challenged the APC to provide evidence linking former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or the ADC to the alleged fake content, describing the accusations as baseless and politically motivated.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, the party said the APC was trying to divert public attention from what it described as the government’s poor economic record.
Shaibu said, “Dele Alake’s statement, issued at dawn today, is a desperate and hollow smokescreen from a campaign terrified of its own record.”
He added, “He accuses Atiku Abubakar and the ADC of a ‘devious plan,’ AI manipulation and deepfakes, yet offers no evidence linking them to the alleged letter or any fabricated video. This is the APC’s familiar script: make a reckless accusation, dress it up as certainty, then hope Nigerians stop asking questions.”
The ADC spokesman challenged the APC to publish evidence supporting its allegations.
“Alake should produce the evidence: names, dates and forensic findings. Until then, his ‘fake news alert’ is an empty political stunt,” he said.
According to Shaibu, Nigerians do not need fabricated stories to judge the APC administration because they experience economic difficulties daily.
He claimed rising fuel prices, high food inflation and increasing poverty reflected the reality facing many citizens, arguing that these challenges were enough for Nigerians to assess the government’s performance.
The ADC also raised concerns over reports surrounding the APC presidential campaign rally in Kaduna.
Referring to reports that supporters were transported from different states, Shaibu questioned why a campaign billboard required security protection and called on the ruling party to explain reports that some supporters allegedly slept on the streets after travelling long distances.
He further expressed concern over reports of road accidents involving APC supporters travelling from Sokoto and Abuja to the rally.
“Details remain unconfirmed, and the APC must urgently account for the passengers’ safety,” he stated.
Shaibu argued that transporting supporters across states for campaign events amounted to political exploitation rather than genuine public support.
“Making citizens endure long, hazardous journeys and sleep outdoors simply to create rally optics is political exploitation, not leadership. The APC cares more about the appearance of a crowd than the safety and dignity of the people it transports,” he said.
The ADC spokesman also questioned why President Tinubu’s campaign was taking place in only 12 states, alleging that the same supporters were being moved from one rally to another.
“You can hire buses, assemble a crowd and plaster the streets with billboards. You cannot hire consent. Nigerians have endured the APC’s punishing prices, shrinking incomes and broken promises. No parade, press statement or insult can conceal their growing rejection of this record,” he said.
He further maintained that criticism of Atiku Abubakar would not address the country’s economic challenges.
“The APC’s failures are sweeping, painful and indefensible. Its boastful promises have collapsed into a miserable reality of expensive food, unaffordable transport and families forced to make do with less. Alake’s attack on Atiku will not reduce the cost of a meal by one naira,” Shaibu said.
He concluded by expressing confidence that Nigerians would vote against the APC in the 2027 general election, saying, “The real desperados are those clinging to power while the country burns. At the polls, Nigerians will reject this discredited record and defeat the APC. No volume of propaganda can talk the party out of the reckoning it has earned.”
The statement comes amid an escalating war of words between the APC and the ADC ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with both parties exchanging accusations over campaign conduct, misinformation and the state of the nation’s economy.
