The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has dismissed as fabricated a purported letter claiming that the Kaduna State Government released N2.3 trillion to host President Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign rally in the state.

The council also accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of allegedly orchestrating a misinformation campaign to discredit Saturday’s APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, alleged that the opposition planned to deploy fake documents, manipulated photographs, artificial intelligence-generated content and deepfake videos to undermine the rally and damage the reputations of Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.

Alake questioned the credibility of the purported letter, which allegedly emanated from Governor Sani and was addressed to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari.

He challenged those circulating the document to explain how a state government could spend N2.3 trillion on a political rally when the amount exceeded the combined budgets of Kaduna State for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

According to him, Kaduna State’s budgets stood at N458.271 billion in 2024, N790.439 billion in 2025 and N985.9 billion in 2026.

The combined figure for the three years, he said, remained below N2.3 trillion.

Alake described the purported letter as baseless and accused opposition actors of attempting to mislead Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The APC spokesperson also alleged that the purported N2.3 trillion letter was part of a broader strategy to discredit the ruling party’s campaign activities and influence public perception of the Kaduna rally.

He claimed that the alleged misinformation campaign had begun with the circulation of a photograph showing a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis.

According to him, the incident was subsequently portrayed as evidence that security personnel had been deployed to protect the party’s billboards.

Alake further alleged that a national newspaper published what he described as a distorted account of the incident, which Atiku later shared on his official social media platforms.

He also warned that old footage, doctored videos and deepfakes could be circulated during the rally to create the impression that residents were opposed to the APC campaign.

The council urged Nigerians to exercise caution over political information circulating on social media and other platforms, particularly materials whose authenticity had not been independently established.

It maintained that the alleged activities were intended to undermine the APC’s campaign flag-off and discredit the party’s leadership.

Atiku and the ADC had not responded to the allegations in the statement.

The Kaduna rally marks a significant stage in the APC’s preparations for the 2027 presidential election, as political parties and their supporters intensify activities ahead of the polls.