Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Presidency of engaging in high-level propaganda and disinformation targeted at smearing and ridiculing opposition leaders ahead of 2027 elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that the Presidency was behind a “faceless mercenary” identified as Kola Johnson, who has been circulating fake press releases in the name of Atiku.
“We have observed with concern a certain self-styled ‘media consultant,’ one Kola Johnson, issuing press releases in the name of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar,” Ibe said.
According to him, findings indicated that Johnson was being sponsored by the Tinubu administration in its “desperation to smear opposition leaders.”
Particularly, the Atiku camp dismissed as “offensive” a recent claim attributed to Johnson that an Atiku presidency would be dominated by a single ethnic group. “This disinformation is part of a calculated propaganda project designed to ridicule Atiku in the media,” Ibe stated.
He stressed that Atiku has “never engaged one Kola Johnson as a media consultant, aide, or associate,” warning that any statement issued under that name is “fake and should be disregarded.”
Ibe also called on media houses that had published such reports to “mmediately retract. “We caution Nigerians, especially the media, to remain vigilant against the propaganda schemes of the Tinubu administration, which now include circulating fabricated statements through compromised journalists.,” the statement read.
“For the record, authentic information from Atiku Abubakar is only released through the Atiku Media Office, signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, or the Special Assistant on Public Communications,” the statement clarified.
The Atiku Media Office urged media gatekeepers to verify all statements purportedly coming from the former vice president before publication.