The media team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the communication strategy of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of using propaganda to mislead the Nigerian public.
The criticism came after the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of President Tinubu posted an old video of the President appealing to Nigerians, which was perceived as an attempt to mask the administration’s shortcomings in handling the recent #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests. The video, originally recorded during a previous national address, was shared in what Atiku’s camp describes as an effort to create a false impression of empathy and responsiveness.
In a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, condemned the move, labeling it as a calculated attempt to deceive the public. “On Day 7 of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, the President’s official X account shared a video of him urging Nigerians to give his administration more time. The video quickly went viral, with many interpreting it as a display of empathy in stark contrast to the widely criticized speech delivered by the President on Sunday,” Ibe said.
However, later that same day, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga clarified on his X account that the video was not new but a clip from a broadcast made the previous year. This revelation, Ibe argued, exemplifies the deceptive practices of the current administration.
“This incident highlights the character of the Tinubu presidency and the incompetence of its media managers,” Ibe continued. “By recycling old content to manipulate public perception, the administration is attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians. Such behavior is indicative of a broader trend within this government, where misinformation and disinformation are used as tools of state policy.”
Ibe further criticized the administration’s handling of its communication strategies, pointing to what he described as a pattern of “policy flip-flops and trial-and-error approaches” that have eroded public trust in the government. He called for an immediate apology from the presidency to the Nigerian people for what he termed a “misleading and disingenuous” approach to governance.
“The Nigerian people deserve an unreserved apology from the Tinubu presidency for leading them into a spiral of misinformation and the resulting poor governance,” Ibe concluded.
