Alleged plot to unleash 1,000 lies before polls
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has asked Nigerians to be on the look out for a systematic series of falsehoods to be unleashed by the All Progressives Congress Campaign in the run up to the February 25th presidential polls.
He said 10 of such falsehoods told within the last one week have been exposed and debunked by credible fact checkers such as the Centre for Democracy and Development CDD.
Atiku who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, in a statement, in Abuja, on Saturday said Nigerians should be weary of claims being made by the APC campaign.
Shaibu revealed that four of such lies were exposed in Sokoto where the APC claimed 11 commissioners and the deputy governor had decamped to the APC all in a bid to attract loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to its rally.
According to him, a fake photo of the APC campaign rally in Sokoto posted by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo; and NiDCOM boss, Abike Dabiri-Erewa on social media were all part of the grand plot to deceive Nigerians.
He said, "Last week, while we were at the Atiku Abubakar Presidential rally in Kano State, we received hundreds of calls after the APC Presidential council released a fake letter showing that Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Manir Dan'Iya, had resigned from PDP. Unfortunately, many credible newspapers went ahead to publish it without confirmation only for Dan'Iya to deny it.
"APC campaigners also stated that 11 commissioners had defected to the PDP. This also turned out to be false. Apparently, the plan was to get PDP supporters to come to their failed rally. This also turned out to be false.
"The Sokoto rally was poorly attended despite the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari whom Tinubu has been begging for assistance. In order to save face, Festus Keyamo, who is a senior advocate and former EFCC prosecutor, posted a photo of a crowded festival in Chicago and passed it off as the Sokoto rally. This is indeed shameful. How are the mighty fallen?
"It is also Keyamo, who boasts of being a prosecutor that has now been given the impossible task of explaining Tinubu's drug case in the United States to Nigeria. Unfortunately for the APC, despite their many lies, the fact remains that Bola Tinubu forfeited $460,000 to US authorities from funds established to be from the proceeds of drug trafficking. It is also an undeniable fact that Tinubu was an associate of two notorious drug kingpins, Abiodun Agbele and Muiz Akande."
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Shaibu added that Femi Fani-Kayode, who runs the social media arm of the APC campaign, had also been an active propagator of fake news.
He noted that Fani-Kayode's claim that Atiku met with serving generals in Abuja was another "tale by moonlight".
Shaibu further stated that , "Atiku was in Bauchi on Wednesday, Kano on Thursday and has been in Yola since Friday. It is a common principle in logic that a person cannot be in two places at the same time. Unfortunately, the APC's lies are bereft of any modicum of intelligence."
He also described as untrue claims by Tinubu's campaign that Atiku was behind the petrol scarcity and the dollar shortage.
"Atiku left office in 2007 which is nearly 16 years ago. How could he be behind a government policy when he lacks executive powers? Even a toddler will not tell unreasonable lies like the APC," he added.
He described as asinine claims by APC campaign spokesman, Dele Alake, that the videos depicting Tinubu speaking gibberish were doctored.
Shaibu said, "During a town hall in Imo State last November, he described the town hall as being different from "Balabu, Blu blu, Bulaba'. Reacting to the gaffe at the time, Festus Keyamo described it as Tinubu's 'sense of humour'. Three months later, we are told by Mr Alake that it was a doctored video. When will these disgusting lies end?
"We, however, commend the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and other credible organisations for immediately fact-checking Alake's claim and exposing the lies."
Shaibu said as the elections draw closer, Tinubu and his party will continue to churn out more lies at an alarming rate which could be as high as 1,000 or 80 per day. The Nigerian media must be circumspect so as not to be deceived by these lying desperados
