• Presidency debunks AI claims on Tinubu, Kagame Paris photograph
• Reject U.S. aid to avoid Venezuela treatment, MURIC tells President
• Return, Nigerians need leadership, not Paris menu, says Atiku
African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the development in Venezuela should serve as a lesson to President Bola Tinubu.
The party equally described the President’s silence over security matters in the country as embarrassing and smacks of fear.
On the claims that a photograph showing Tinubu and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Paris was Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated, the Presidency described the narrative as false, misleading and a clear misrepresentation of facts.
This was as the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) warned the Tinubu-led government against allowing U.S. intervention in Nigeria’s security affairs, to avoid the Venezuela treatment.
On his part, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar slammed the Presidency over what he described as misplaced priorities following official announcements detailing Tinubu’s menu engagements in Paris, France, amid worsening insecurity and economic hardship in Nigeria.
ADC further viewed the action taken by United States President Donald Trump to arrest and bring to trial the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife as not just a lesson but a timely warning to the Nigerian government in many respects.
The party criticised the Federal Government’s failure to react to the development as other countries and world leaders had done, as an embarrassment to the country, which could only be explained by Tinubu’s personal fear that he might suffer the same fate.
According to ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, while the party supports the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations, it believes that a government that holds its national laws in contempt and tramples on the rights of its citizens opens itself up for external interference.
ADC noted that Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election was widely condemned and warned that authoritarian leaders and election riggers could no longer hide under the sanctity of national borders to protect stolen mandates.
The statement read: “The ADC considers Saturday’s action by the U.S. to arrest Maduro and his wife as a clear warning that sends a strong message to the Nigerian government and any other government that lacks legitimacy.
“ADC strongly supports the principles of sanctity of national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of another country as enshrined in Articles 2(1) and 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, principles that underpin global peace and order.
Nevertheless, we maintain that these international governance doctrines that were ordinarily designed to maintain global order should not be invoked to provide a haven for tyranny, electoral fraud or the systematic denial of a people’s right to freely choose their leaders.”
The Presidency’s clarification followed the controversy that trailed the circulation of the photograph from Tinubu’s meeting with Kagame in Paris on Sunday.
The image sparked intense online debate after a visible Grok watermark appeared on an enhanced version, prompting some social media users to allege that the photograph was fake or AI-generated.
Despite the Presidency’s explanations, reactions on social media have persisted, with some users expressing scepticism over the use of AI-related tools in official communications.
The image was shared on Tinubu’s verified X account and reposted by a presidential aide, triggering calls from Nigerians for clearer disclosure and greater caution in the handling of official photographs.
However, in a statement yesterday, the Presidency clarified the photograph as authentic and was taken during a real engagement between the two leaders in the French capital.
The Islamic human rights organisation warned that such could expose the country to the kind of crisis currently facing Venezuela.
The group’s founder and executive director, Prof Ishaq Akintola, in a statement yesterday, cautioned that recent developments in Venezuela should serve as a timely lesson for Nigeria.
U.S. forces carried out a raid in Venezuela on Saturday during which Maduro was captured and taken to America.
Subsequently, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. might take temporary control of Venezuela, whose crude oil reserve is estimated at over 303 billion barrels.
According to MURIC, the episode demonstrates the risks associated with inviting foreign powers into domestic political and security matters.
Atiku’s reaction followed the controversy generated by claims that a photograph showing President Tinubu having lunch with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris was doctored.
The Presidency reportedly compounded the issue by announcing that Tinubu also had dinner the same evening with Kagame and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Atiku said the decision to focus public communication on the President’s meal schedule rather than Nigeria’s deepening crises exposed a troubling disconnect between the government and the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former VP said the Presidency’s response amounted to “a textbook case of misplaced priorities and official shamelessness.”
Atiku argued that the real deception was not the disputed photograph but the distortion of governance priorities at a time of national emergency.
“The real falsehood is not a photograph; it is the daily distortion of leadership priorities. Nigeria is burning. The Presidency is editing pictures,” he added.
