APC Accuses PDP of Masterminding Fake News Against Tinubu
- The APC has raised an alarm over fake news content on social media aimed at casting aspersions on its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu
- The campaign team of the ruling party said the PDP is responsible of spreading false narratives against Tinubu
- The party called on Nigerians to be wary of misinformation aimed at rubbishing its presidential candidate ahead of the elections
FCT, Abuja - The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of stage-managing fake news against its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bayo Onanuga, director, media and publicity of the APC PCC made the accusation in a statement sent to Legit.ng on Sunday, January 29.
Source: Facebook
He said the fake news content sponsored by the opposition is mostly in Hausa language targeted at voters in northern Nigeria.
He further alleged that the PDP has recruited social media actors to carryout a campaign of calumny against Tinubu in the north.
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Onanuga said the move is aimed at portraying Tinubu in bad light, especially among voters in the northern region.
Part of the statement read:
“We consider it necessary at this point to advert the mind of Nigerians to this evil plan capable of causing disharmony, ill-will and needless crisis with attendant security implications in the country.
“PDP and their hired social media influencers have already started pushing their nefarious contents by spoofing and using parody social media accounts of popular newspapers and blogs to disseminate fake news with the sole aim of hoodwinking gullible Nigerians.
“Many parody social media accounts such as ‘Vanguard Hausa', 'DailyTrust Hausa' have been created and also being used to circulate fake news on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and other digital platforms.
“All these parody Facebook accounts were used by the PDP on Saturday to publish malicious fake news that trucks carrying old Naira notes, belonging to Tinubu were arrested in Lagos.”
The APC PCC implored Daily Trust and Vanguard newspapers to do everything legal to shut down the cloned social media pages using their names.
Onanuga said the PDP and and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar know they can't win the coming election, adding that they have resulted to using fake news to gain electoral advantage.
He added:
“We use this medium to urge Nigerians and most especially our compatriots in northern Nigeria not to allow themselves to be deceived.
“Atiku and PDP have nothing good to offer Nigerians other than his rabid ambition to enrich himself, family members and cronies as revealed in audio and video leaks by Atiku’s former media aide, Mike Achimugu.”
Fake news: Onanuga alerts members of the public on Twitter
Onanuga had earlier taken to his Twitter page to alert the public of the fake news against his principal.
He wrote:
“Daily Trust Hausa and Vanguard Hausa are spreading malicious fake news about some truck loads of money said to have been seized and linked with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The story is totally false and it is unfortunate reputable media houses are disseminating this big lie.”
Tinubu accuses PDP of sabotaging fuel supply to blackmail Buhari's govt
Earlier, Tinubu accused the PDP of sabotaging fuel supply in the country in order to blackmail the federal government for illicit political advantage.
Tinubu made the comment in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, to a multitude of party faithful who graced the APC presidential campaign rally recently.
He said the PDP administration gave fuel retail licenses to their supporters and sympathisers who are now hoarding fuel to create long queues across the country to make the APC-led government look incompetent.
2023 elections: Yahaya Bello denies withdrawing support for Tinubu
Meanwhile, Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has debunked a report claiming that he has withdrawn his support for Tinubu.
In a post on Twitter, Bello shared a photo of the newspaper headline with the inscription 'Fake News' boldly written across the image.
Also, Felix Morka Esq, national publicity secretary of the APC, in a statement sent to Legit.ng on Sunday, January 22, described the report as fake news.
Source: Legit.ng
