Atiku Accuses APC Of Manipulating Voices Of PDP Leaders In Viral Audio Clip

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of manipulating his voice and those of other leaders of the PDP in a viral audio clip.

An audio of Abubakar; his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa; and Governor Aminu Tambuwal went viral on Friday.

In the audio, the trio were heard talking about how to rig Saturday’s presidential election by bribing officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and others.

Reacting in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, Abubakar lambasted the opposition for a poorly done propaganda that seeks to implicate him and other leaders of the PDP in election rigging through an audio clip.

The PDP candidate said that the poor attempt by makers of the audio clip is a reflection of how pathetic and shallow their campaigns have been run.

The former Vice President said: “It is an established fact that the audio clip is a fake document.

“It is characteristic of how disingenuous those behind the script ran the government and did their campaigns.

“What is annoying is that these elements are bent on confusing the electorate with cryptic propaganda on the eve of an election.

“But even at that, they should have come up with something that dignifies the intelligence of Nigerians.

“For political parties that believe that they have elevated ideas, you would think that these elements would employ artificial intelligence for their gambit.

“Rather, what they did is an amateur mismatch of audio clips from existing videos, which even low cadre IT students can decode.

“Our forensic examination of the viral clip was able to track one of those videos to an interview that the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign and Governor of Sokoto State, His Excellency Aminu Tambuwal had with Trust TV on 19 February 2022. See video attached. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kkkyjk5wUI

“Major fact checkers across the country have discredited the viral clip as deep in fakery.”

“Outside the fact checkers, we did not go too far to unearth the source of propaganda behind the so-called viral audio.”

Shaibu noted further that Nigerians should be circumspect in the news that they take in the hours leading to the election and, more especially on election day.

“We are up against political parties who are doomed to fail at the polls and are extremely desperate to subvert the electoral wishes of the people,” he stated.