Zamfara rally: APC chieftain accuses Atiku supporters of manipulation
An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Kaduna State, Yusuf Ali Rabagardama, has accused supporters of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of manipulating a video from a recent political gathering in Gusau, Zamfara State.
Rabagardama alleged that the audio of participants chanting “Sai Atiku” was superimposed on footage of an event organised to celebrate the appointment of Senator Abdul’aziz Yari as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
In a statement issued to journalists in Abuja, the APC chieftain said the video was circulated from the Facebook page of a social media promoter known as “Huram King”, whom he described as a supporter of Atiku.
He said the alleged alteration was intended to create the impression that residents and APC supporters in Zamfara had abandoned President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“After a careful analysis of the video in circulation, it is clear that the audio has been manipulated and superimposed to create the erroneous impression that the people of Zamfara preferred Atiku Abubakar to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027,” he said.
Rabagardama said Nigerians had the right to support any political candidate but warned against manipulating digital content to misrepresent public opinion.
“There is nothing wrong with supporting Atiku Abubakar or any other candidate. That is democracy. But when you begin to manipulate videos and manufacture voices in order to twist the people’s choice, that is no longer legitimate political competition. It is desperation,” he said.
He urged political parties and their supporters to campaign on the basis of their records, policies and programmes rather than misinformation.
“You cannot manufacture popularity with a computer. You cannot edit a video and manufacture the consent of the people. The people will ultimately speak for themselves at the ballot box,” he added.
