Reloaded News Desk
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has accused opposition elements of deliberately staging videos showing the destruction of All Progressives Congress campaign posters as part of what he described as a propaganda strategy ahead of the 2027 general election.
Keyamo made the allegation in a statement posted on his X account on Friday while reacting to a video showing a man tearing down APC posters while allegedly brandishing a weapon.
The minister described the man as a sponsored opposition thug and alleged that the incident was deliberately recorded and circulated to create the impression that President Bola Tinubu had lost public support.
According to Keyamo, the presence of a camera recording the incident suggested that the act was planned for political effect rather than being an isolated act of poster vandalism.
He further alleged that similar incidents were taking place in other parts of the country and were subsequently being presented as evidence of growing public anger against the President.
Keyamo also accused sections of the media of applying different standards when reporting incidents involving campaign materials belonging to the ruling party and opposition groups.
He referred to a separate incident in Lagos State in which he said individuals used Tinubu’s posters to cover those of an opposition party.
While describing that action as unacceptable, the minister alleged that the Lagos incident received a different interpretation, with some media platforms portraying it as evidence of intimidation and threats to democracy.
Keyamo stressed that his comments should not be interpreted as a call for retaliation by APC supporters.
“This is not a call on the teeming APC supporters to retaliate in any form,” he said, arguing instead that the incidents should prompt scrutiny of how political events are recorded, circulated and interpreted during the election season.
The minister said he believed the alleged strategy was aimed at creating a negative public perception of the APC and the Tinubu administration ahead of the 2027 elections.
He also referred to recent bye-elections, claiming that opposition parties had suffered defeats across five regions of the country and arguing that the results should be considered when assessing the political narratives being circulated ahead of the general election.
However, the claims about the alleged sponsorship and staging of the poster-destruction video remain allegations made by Keyamo. No independent evidence establishing who organised the incident or financed it was presented in his statement.
The episode nevertheless highlights an emerging feature of the 2027 campaign: political activities are increasingly being captured on video and circulated online, where individual incidents can quickly become part of wider narratives about public sentiment, political support and campaign conduct.
With the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, the handling and verification of such politically charged footage is likely to remain an important issue throughout the campaign.
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