The presidential candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has disowned a viral audio in which he is heard discussing how to rig Saturday’s presidential election.
In alleged audio, Atiku’s running mate Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Aminu Tambuwal are heard in the alleged plan with Atiku.
However, in a swift reaction, Atiku dismissed the said audio recording as utter rubbish, adding that it was the handiwork of the opposition which the PDP candidate perceived was looming.
In a statement, signed by Atiku’s Media aide, Phrank Shuaibu, the PDP candidate said any attentive listener would know that the audio was fake.
The statement said: “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.
“But some people think they can sell a narrative of Atiku manipulating this election. This is indeed the height of desperation, the last kick of a dying horse. The APC and the Labour Party must note that elections are not won on social media but at the polling units.”