Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has described a viral video showing a man using what appeared to be a machete to destroy campaign posters bearing the images of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima as a planned propaganda stunt orchestrated by opposition elements to create a false impression that the President has lost public support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The video, which also featured graphics with the inscription "Tinubu Must Go," showed the man tearing down multiple posters mounted on a wall, according to reports by Punch and other Nigerian media outlets. Reacting to the video on Friday, October 2, 2026, on his official X account, Keyamo described the individual as a "sponsored thug of the opposition brandishing a weapon" and argued that the deliberate recording and circulation of the incident suggested it was designed to generate a particular political narrative. "It is planned as a propaganda stunt because someone deliberately set a camera to record and circulate it," Keyamo said. He added that "similar, planned stunts are happening in some parts of the country," alleging that the objective was to create the impression that Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress had lost public support.
Keyamo's intervention comes amid intensifying political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, scheduled for January 16, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6. The Independent National Electoral Commission has published a final list of 18 presidential candidates, including President Tinubu of the APC, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress. Campaign materials, political messaging and activities by supporters of competing parties have increasingly become part of the public conversation, and incidents involving the defacement or destruction of campaign posters have emerged as a recurring flashpoint.
The minister sought to minimise the significance of the video by placing it in the context of Nigeria's vast electorate. "The interpretation and spin given to these incidents is that the President has been 'rejected' by 'angry' Nigerians," Keyamo said. "Meanwhile, this is just one voter amongst 93,469,008 registered voters in Nigeria." He also criticised sections of the media and bloggers for what he described as double standards in their coverage of incidents involving political posters. He referred to a separate incident in Lagos State the previous week, where he said two or three people were seen using Tinubu's posters to cover those of an opposition party. While saying such conduct was also unacceptable, Keyamo alleged that some television programmes and blogs had described those involved as "thugs of the ruling party" and amplified the incident as evidence of intimidation and threats to democracy.
Keyamo stressed that his comments should not be interpreted as a call for APC supporters to retaliate. "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. He further alleged that the opposition was deliberately seeking to portray the ruling party negatively ahead of the 2027 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 stated. He also called on the international community to pay attention to political developments in Nigeria, accusing the opposition of engaging in what he described as organised propaganda. "The world should take note of what is happening in Nigeria by a defeated, disorganised, disoriented and confused opposition," he said.
Keyamo also claimed that opposition parties had suffered defeats in recent bye-elections across five regions of the country and predicted that a similar outcome would occur in the 2027 presidential election. "Despite these shenanigans, they all lost woefully in bye-elections held in 5 regions of the country. That same defeat awaits them on January 16, 2027," he stated. The minister's claims about the bye-election results have not been independently verified in the immediate reporting of his statement.
The claim that the specific incident in the viral video was staged remains an allegation by Keyamo. The reports reviewed do not independently establish who organised the incident, whether the person seen in the video was sponsored by an opposition group, or whether the recording was deliberately produced for propaganda purposes. The opposition has not issued a formal response to Keyamo's allegations as of the time of reporting. The police have also not commented publicly on the incident or indicated whether an investigation has been opened.
The controversy reflects the broader political climate in Nigeria as the 2027 elections approach, in which allegations of staged propaganda, media bias and political intimidation have become increasingly common. Keyamo's decision to address the video directly, rather than ignore it, suggests the ruling party is concerned about the potential impact of such incidents on public perception, particularly in an era where social media can amplify a single video into a national narrative within hours. The minister's comparison of the video to the Lagos incident also highlights a broader debate about how the media covers political violence and the treatment of campaign materials, with both the ruling party and the opposition accusing the other of exploiting such incidents for political advantage.
For Nigerians, the exchange raises questions about the authenticity of political content circulating on social media and the difficulty of distinguishing genuine public sentiment from orchestrated propaganda. The coming months are likely to see more such incidents as the campaigns intensify, with both the ruling party and the opposition seeking to shape the narrative ahead of the January 16 presidential election. For now, Keyamo has made his position clear: the video was a stunt, the opposition is behind it, and the APC will not be distracted by what he describes as a defeated and disorganised opposition. Whether that message resonates with voters, or whether the images of Tinubu's posters being torn down linger longer than the minister's rebuttal, will be determined in the weeks and months ahead.
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