Atedo Peterside, renowned economist and founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, has urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in speaking the truth amid growing concerns over a reported multibillion-naira digital campaign allegedly orchestrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Reacting to an article titled “Digital Ambush: Inside the APC’s Multibillion Naira Plot to Silence Dissent Before 2027”, which was shared on X by Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna State governor, Peterside said: “I sincerely hope that @elrufai was given wrong information in his post below. But guess what? Whether the talk of a digital ambush is true or not, it is important that many of us use every opportunity we have to tell the truth. Remember that, in the end, it is the truth that will set us free. Do not despair.”
The statement comes amid public outrage triggered by the article authored by Mohammed Bello Doka, which accuses the APC of waging a “calculated digital ambush” aimed at manipulating public perception and drowning opposition voices using bots, influencers, and algorithmic propaganda.
According to the piece, the ruling party has launched a massive, covert media offensive masked as a “media strategy” but allegedly designed to “rewrite the story of their administration’s catastrophic economic and security record.”
Central to the exposé is the recently held Progressive Digital Media Summit in Abuja, described as a state-sponsored gathering of content creators, digital strategists, and government media aides. The summit, according to Doka, served as a launchpad for what he calls a “psychological warfare” campaign funded by billions of naira in covert contracts and ghost-operated accounts.
“This is not campaigning, this is psychological warfare,” the article asserts, accusing the APC of attempting to whitewash failures in governance, including rising poverty, inflation, and insecurity, by flooding digital platforms with choreographed trends, sponsored content, and influencer endorsements of the “Renewed Hope Agenda.”
The article paints a picture of a digital environment being weaponised to sanitise the administration’s image, with predictions of skits mocking fuel queues and bots pushing hashtags designed to gaslight citizens into believing “things are getting better.”
