By Prosper Okoye
Opposition parties have accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of seeking to stifle alternative voices ahead of the 2027 elections through what they describe as excessive charges for erecting campaign billboards.
The accusations came on Thursday during a panel session at the National Summit on AI, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), and Electoral Information Integrity in Abuja.
Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the party had been asked to pay N250 million for a single billboard, describing the demand as interference in the democratic process. Araba Rufus, national publicity secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), cited a charge of N20 million in his state.
The panel, titled “Political Parties Dialogue: Campaigning Without Deception”, brought political parties together to discuss ways to curb negative campaigning and AI-driven disinformation. The APC, which had been invited, was absent.
Rufus criticised the party’s absence, saying: “Such an important event is organised and the APC doesn’t show up because they have ulterior plans.”
Prince Chinedu, director-general of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), attributed the persistence of negative campaigning, despite laws and agreements prohibiting it, to the lack of clear ideologies, programmes and defined positions among political parties.
Abdullahi disagreed, arguing that parties had distinct policy positions but that the ruling party’s alleged impunity had encouraged negative campaigning.
“The APC holds a position that the removal of subsidy is the only way to save the economy, and petroleum prices should be determined by market forces, while the ADC has said it will bring back the subsidy, and the interest of the people will determine petrol prices,” Abdullahi said.
He accused the APC of being a major driver of negative campaigning, an allegation Osa Director, national publicity secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), also supported.
Osa said the NDC had instructed its supporters to avoid name-calling but would respond forcefully to attacks and propaganda against the party.
“In as much as NDC supporters have been told not to engage in name-calling, I am not the one that you will slap and I will turn the other cheek. I will daze you back with every strength in me. We respond to the APC propaganda which may be disproportionate, but it is with facts,” he said.
Rex Elanu, national publicity secretary of the African Action Congress (AAC), raised concerns about alleged recent attacks on the party’s presidential candidate, which he attributed to suspected APC thugs. He questioned the lack of accountability for those allegedly responsible.
Elanu also warned against using the Cybercrimes Act to criminalise defamation and recalled the party’s protests against the Electoral Act, which he said had been imposed on Nigerians despite concerns raised over its provisions.
The discovery of AI-generated profiles on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) portal also featured prominently in the discussion, with participants questioning the absence of arrests or prosecutions over the incident.
Abdullahi questioned why the APC appeared to be the only political party unconcerned about the incident.
Osa said AI itself was not the problem but argued that INEC should not use it to conduct elections or collate results, insisting that manual and other independently verifiable methods should be used.
Participants also identified weak institutions and inadequate regulation of information platforms as factors contributing to electoral misinformation and violence.
Summing up the discussion, the panel moderator, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, said the public needed to understand its role in protecting the integrity of the democratic system.
“Electorate must be made to understand that they are to protect the integrity of our democratic system. Bad information is not the problem, but the attempt to stiffen information that the electorates require to make informed decisions is the problem,” Ibeanu said.
