The Kaduna State Government has dismissed as false a purported letter claiming that it released N2.3 trillion to host the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in the state.
The claim emerged ahead of the APC’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday, with a document purportedly signed by Governor Uba Sani and addressed to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, circulating online.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council, through its spokesperson, Dele Alake, described the document as fake and accused opposition actors of attempting to discredit President Bola Tinubu, Governor Sani and the ruling party ahead of the rally.
Alake said the alleged N2.3 trillion expenditure was implausible, noting that the figure exceeded Kaduna State’s combined budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
He put the state’s budgets at N458.271 billion for 2024, N790.439 billion for 2025 and N985.9 billion for 2026. The combined figure, he said, remained below N2.3 trillion.
The APC campaign council alleged that the purported letter was part of a wider disinformation campaign involving fake documents, manipulated photographs, artificial intelligence-generated content and deepfake videos.
Alake also referred to a photograph showing a security vehicle near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna. He alleged that the image had been presented misleadingly as evidence that security personnel were deployed to protect the party’s billboards.
The council further alleged that old or doctored videos could be circulated during the rally to create the impression that Kaduna residents were opposed to the APC campaign. It urged Nigerians to verify political information before sharing it.
The allegations against former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), however, were contained in the APC campaign council’s statement, and the statement did not provide independent evidence establishing that they directed the alleged circulation of the documents or other content.
The controversy comes as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the APC formally commencing its presidential campaign activities in Kaduna.