The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has accused the opposition of deliberately staging incidents of political violence and vandalism to create the impression that Nigerians have rejected President Bola Tinubu.
Keyamo, in a post on X on Friday, alleged that an armed man seen in a viral video destroying posters belonging to the ruling party was part of a planned propaganda stunt designed to portray the President as unpopular ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the incident was deliberately recorded and circulated, alleging that similar incidents were being staged in different parts of the country to support a narrative of growing anger against the Tinubu administration.
Keyamo said, “Here is a sponsored thug of the opposition brandishing a weapon, destroying the posters of the ruling party somewhere in the country. It is planned as a propaganda stunt because someone deliberately set a camera to record and circulate it.”
He contrasted the incident with a separate case in Lagos where two or three people were seen using Tinubu’s posters to cover those of an opposition party.
According to him, although the Lagos incident was also unacceptable, some television programmes and blogs portrayed those involved as “thugs of the ruling party” and used the incident to raise concerns about intimidation and the state of democracy.
Keyamo said the contrasting reactions amounted to double standards in the coverage of political incidents.
He, however, urged supporters of the All Progressives Congress not to retaliate, saying his comments were not a call for reciprocal action.
“This is not a call on the teeming APC supporters to retaliate in any form, but this should prick the conscience of all men of goodwill,” he said.
The minister further alleged that opposition parties were attempting to build a narrative that could be used to challenge the outcome of the 2027 presidential election.
“The script and propaganda tactics of the opposition is clear: make the ruling party look so bad and unelectable as a basis of rejecting their apparent defeat come January 16, 2027,” he said.
His reference was to the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission for January 16, 2027.
Keyamo also cited the September 19 bye-elections, in which APC candidates won four of the five seats contested across Gombe, Kano and Bauchi and Delta states, while the Allied Peoples Movement won one seat.
He described the results as evidence of continued support for the ruling party and claimed that a similar outcome awaited the opposition in the 2027 elections.
“The world should take note of what is happening in Nigeria by a defeated, disorganised, disoriented and confused opposition,” he said.
“Despite these shenanigans, they all lost woefully in bye-elections held in five regions of the country about a fortnight ago. That same defeat awaits them on January 16, 2027.”
