Claim
A viral press statement with the logo of the Kaduna State Governor circulating on Whatsapp alleges that ₦2.3 trillion Naira has been budgeted for the APC campaign flag off, which will be held in Kaduna State.
The release dated 18 October 2026 had the logo that could convince a reader it came from the office of the Kaduna State governor. The heading of the letter read: “Notification for Adequate preparations for the grand rally flag off”.
Why We Fact-checked
The statement, considering the emotions it could draw, appearing to have emerged from the office of the state governor, could trigger emotions and make people wonder why such a huge amount of money should be spent on a one-day campaign. This could heat-up the polity.
Also, we checked to know if the statement truly came from the office of the governor.
Verification
The six-paragraph press statement which had the name of the governor misspelled also has some incoherences in the letter.
In the title of the circulating statement, ‘Notification for’…, was used instead of a more appropriate phrase: ‘Notification of’….
We checked online to see if any credible media organisation published the claim, but found none.
However, in a counter statement by the APC campaign council signed by the spokesperson of the council, Mr Dele Alake, the council said the press statement was a fake news alert and plot to discredit the APC campaign flag off.
Also, the council claimed that a former Vice President already campaigning for the position of the president ahead of the 2027 election and his political party fabricated the circulating statement.
Below is a statement by the council to alert the public.
“PRESS STATEMENT
ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL
“FAKE NEWS ALERT: ATIKU ABUBAKAR AND ADC’S PLOT TO DISCREDIT APC PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN FLAG-OFF IN KADUNA
“We have uncovered a well-orchestrated, devious plan by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his party to discredit the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna today, Saturday, October 24th, 2026.
“Through subterfuge and mindless propaganda, the former Vice President and the African Democratic Congress have perfected their plans to misinform and disinform the public, manipulate public opinion through fake news operations and planting of false news in mainstream news platforms and social media with the use of Artificial Intelligence, deepfake videos, and counterfeit documents, all in a bid to discredit the APC rally in Kaduna, President Bola Tinubu, Governor Uba Sani, and leaders of our party.
“In the last 24 hours, we have seen these tactics deployed to mislead the unsuspecting public. It began with the mischievous release of a picture of a security vehicle on a routine patrol, innocuously stationed at a junction near one of APC’s numerous campaign billboards in Kaduna metropolis.
“Atiku and the ADC propaganda machinery twisted the narrative, claiming the security agents were there to protect the APC billboards in Kaduna. They then planted the story in a national newspaper known for its anti-government and anti-APC editorial stance.
“Immediately after the newspaper published the fake, distorted story, Atiku Abubakar, in a coordinated manner, latched onto it and shared it on his official social media handles to generate traffic and trends.
“Not too long after the first episode of the well-choreographed plot, Atiku Abubakar and ADC agents of disinformation released another fake letter online purportedly written by Governor Uba Sani and addressed to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, on the release of N2.3 trillion by the Kaduna State Government to host the APC rally.
“We are still at a loss as to how anyone can imagine and concoct this senseless and utterly baseless lie that defies logic and basic common sense. How much is the entire annual revenue of Kaduna State, or any state, for that matter, that a state would spend ₦2.3 trillion to host a rally?
“The ₦2.3 trillion that Atiku and his hirelings are circulating online is more than Kaduna State’s annual budget for three years.
“For context, the combined Kaduna State budgets for 2024 (₦458.271 billion), 2025 (₦790.439 billion), and 2026 (₦985.9 billion) are still less than ₦2.3 trillion.
“We know these two scenarios are only a part of the grand plan.
“The ADC and Atiku’s hirelings have also perfected plans to circulate old, doctored, and deepfake videos as the rally gets underway later today to show purported resentment by the people.
“We hereby use this opportunity to alert the general public about this malicious and ignoble plan.
“It is a fact that Atiku Abubakar and the ADC, his special-purpose vehicle, are incapable of winning any election.
“They will pull any strings, no matter how despicable and atrocious, to stay afloat in their desperate bid to grab power at all costs.
“We urge Nigerians to be vigilant and reject their machinations.
“Dele Alake
Spokesperson
APC Presidential Campaign Council
October 24, 2026”
In the build up to the 2027 general elections in Nigeria, posts like this could promote violence and threaten the peace of the country and lead to chaos.
To further determine where the circulating statement came from, we verified the image through Google reverse image and discovered only stories that highlighted APC’s counter-statement that dismissed the claim and described the statement as fabricated.
However, many mainstream media have continued to debunk the statement with the official statement of the APC campaign council which claimed it was a manipulated and fake press statement.
Verdict – FALSE
The claim is false, as it lacks basis in reality. Also, the campaign council of the political party the governor belongs to has dismissed the claim as a fabricated document that does not reflect the true position of the APC campaign council.
The letter is incoherent and there are errors in the name of the governor of Kaduna State who was claimed to have signed the press statement.
The public is advised to disbelieve the circulating statement claiming that ₦2.3 trillion has been budgeted and released by the Kaduna State government towards the successful execution of the APC flag-off campaign rally scheduled to hold in Kaduna State.
