The allegations were made on Tuesday during a panel discussion at the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), and Electoral Information Integrity in Abuja.
The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, alleged that his party had been asked to pay N250 million to erect a single campaign billboard, describing the demand as an attempt to undermine the democratic process.
Similarly, his counterpart in the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Araba Rufus, said his party had been quoted N20 million for a billboard in his state.
The discussion, titled “Political Parties Dialogue: Campaigning Without Deception”, brought representatives of political parties together to examine ways of addressing negative campaigning and the growing threat of AI-generated disinformation.
The APC, which was invited to participate in the session, was absent.
Reacting to the party’s absence, Rufus criticised its failure to attend, alleging that it had ulterior motives.
“Such an important event is organised and the APC doesn’t show up because they have ulterior plans,” he said.
The Director-General of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Prince Chinedu, attributed the persistence of negative campaigning, despite existing laws and agreements against the practice, to the absence of clear ideologies, programmes and defined policy positions among political parties.
However, Abdullahi disagreed, insisting that political parties had distinct policy positions but that what he described as the ruling party’s impunity had contributed to the growing culture of negative campaigning.
He cited differences between the APC and ADC over fuel subsidy removal and petrol pricing as evidence of their contrasting policy positions.
“The APC holds a position that the removal of subsidy is the only way to save the economy, and petroleum prices should be determined by market forces, while the ADC has said it will bring back the subsidy, and the interest of the people will determine petrol prices,” Abdullahi said.
He accused the APC of being a major driver of negative political campaigning, a position also supported by the National Publicity Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Osa Director.
Director said the NDC had directed its supporters to refrain from name-calling but would not remain silent in the face of attacks and propaganda against the party.
“In as much as NDC supporters have been told not to engage in name-calling, I am not the one that you will slap and I will turn the other cheek. I will daze you back with every strength in me. We respond to the APC propaganda which may be disproportionate, but it is with facts,” he said.
Also speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Action Congress (AAC), Rex Elanu, raised concerns over alleged recent attacks on the party’s presidential candidate, which he attributed to suspected APC thugs.
He questioned the apparent lack of accountability for those allegedly involved and warned against the use of the Cybercrimes Act to criminalise defamation.
Elanu also recalled his party’s protests against the Electoral Act, which he said had been imposed on Nigerians despite concerns raised over some of its provisions.
The alleged discovery of AI-generated profiles on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) portal was another major issue raised during the discussion.
Participants questioned the absence of arrests or prosecutions in connection with the incident, with Abdullahi asking why the APC appeared to be the only political party unconcerned about the development.
Director maintained that artificial intelligence was not inherently problematic but cautioned against its use by INEC in conducting elections or collating results.
He argued that manual processes and other independently verifiable methods should be employed to safeguard the credibility of election results.
Participants also identified weak institutions and inadequate regulation of information platforms as factors contributing to the spread of electoral misinformation and political violence.
In his closing remarks, the panel moderator, Professor Okechukwu Ibeanu, emphasised the need for citizens to recognise their responsibility in safeguarding the integrity of the democratic system.
He argued that the greater concern was not simply the circulation of false information but attempts to restrict access to the information voters need to make informed electoral decisions.
“Electorate must be made to understand that they are to protect the integrity of our democratic system. Bad information is not the problem, but the attempt to stiffen information that the electorates require to make informed decisions is the problem,” Ibeanu said.
