ADC Accuses Tinubu Campaign Of Smokescreen Over Fake News Allegation

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused President Bola Tinubu’s campaign team of using allegations of fake news and artificial intelligence manipulation to distract Nigerians from the performance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.

The council, through its director of strategic communication, Phrank Shaibu, reacted in a statement issued yesterday in response to a statement credited to APC presidential campaign council spokesman Dele Alake on an alleged plan to use fabricated content against the APC campaign.

Shaibu challenged Alake to provide evidence linking former vice president Atiku Abubakar and the ADC to the alleged plan, including names, dates and forensic findings.

He described the APC’s allegations as an attempt to divert attention from the administration’s economic record, arguing that Nigerians were more concerned about rising living costs than political accusations.

The ADC campaign official cited rising petrol and diesel prices, food inflation and poverty as evidence of what he described as the failures of the APC-led government.

He also questioned the explanation that a vehicle seen near an APC campaign billboard was part of a routine patrol, asking why the campaign billboard required such protection.
Shaibu further alleged that some APC supporters had been brought from distant states to attend the campaign rally in Kaduna and left sleeping on the streets.

He also referred to reports of accidents involving APC supporters travelling from Sokoto and Abuja to the rally, while acknowledging that details remained unconfirmed.

The ADC official called on the APC to account for the safety of the passengers involved.

He accused the ruling party of prioritising crowd size and campaign publicity over the welfare of its supporters, describing the alleged practice of transporting people over long distances for rallies as political exploitation.

Shaibu also questioned Tinubu’s reported campaign schedule across 12 states, arguing that the movement of supporters from one rally to another could create a misleading impression of widespread grassroots support.

He maintained that assembling crowds and displaying campaign billboards could not substitute for genuine public support.

According to him, the administration’s economic policies have left Nigerians grappling with high food prices, expensive transportation and declining purchasing power.

“Alake’s attack on Atiku will not reduce the cost of a meal by one naira,” he said.

Shaibu expressed confidence that Nigerians would reject the APC in the 2027 general elections, insisting that the party’s record in government would remain a major issue in the campaign.