From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has disowned an audio clip circulating on social purportedly featuring him, his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal discussing issues relating to the presidential poll.
Atiku in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, said the “fake audio clip” confirmed his earlier warning that his opponents would deepen their propaganda ahead of the election.
According to him, “We warned last week that as the election approaches, there will be a spike in the rate of propaganda on social media. With barely 24 hours to the poll, we have witnessed propaganda from not just the All Progressives Congress but the Labour Party as well.
“In this latest drivel, a montage of speeches delivered by Atiku, Tambuwal, and Okowa since last year were manipulated and pieced together to give an impression that they were discussing plans to rig Saturday’s election. In this age of artificial intelligence technology, even dead people can be portrayed as delivering speeches. This is nothing new.
“For the record, Atiku has run in two presidential elections and has never been indicted or prosecuted for election violence or vote buying.
“It is unfortunate that those seeking power will engage in outdated defeatist tactics. How can Tambuwal be referring to Atiku by his full name in a one-on-one private conversation? This is nonsensical, similar to the type of meaningless chatter about President Muhammadu Buhari being dead and replaced by one Jubril from Sudan.”