LAI MOHAMMED TALKS ABOUT HIS CONTRIBUTION TO TINUBU’S 2023 ELECTION TRIUMPH
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By: Fasasi Hammad
Lai Mohammed Reveals How He Used Strategic Communication to Boost APC and Tinubu’s 2023 Election Campaign
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, former Minister of Information and Culture, has explained how he implemented a two-pronged campaign strategy that he says contributed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 elections.
He made the disclosure in his newly released book, “Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration,” which chronicles his experiences as a minister under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ahead of the elections, President Buhari had cautioned ministers, permanent secretaries, and agency heads to focus on their official duties and avoid direct involvement in political campaigns. The directive, issued during a two-day Ministerial Performance Review Retreat in Abuja in 2022, warned that violations would attract sanctions.
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Mohammed, however, said he pursued his campaign strategies without violating the presidential directive—focusing not on rallies or speeches, but on defending facts, documenting government performance, and countering propaganda aimed at rewriting history.
He noted that the opposition narrative leading up to the elections falsely portrayed the APC-led Buhari administration as having achieved nothing, a deliberate strategy to discredit the party and its presidential candidate, Tinubu. “As the popular aphorism goes, ‘Say it loud, say it often, and it no longer matters if it’s true,’” Mohammed said.
To counter this, he adopted a two-pronged approach: systematically showcasing the administration’s achievements and decisively challenging misleading opposition claims. On October 18, 2023—130 days before the general elections—his ministry launched the PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015–2023), presenting verified accomplishments of Buhari’s government to shape public perception.
The programme involved ministers providing evidence-based reports on their sectors, followed by robust Q&A sessions where journalists critically examined the presentations. Mohammed said the strategy employed a comprehensive multi-platform communication approach, leveraging both traditional and digital media.
Just three days before the elections, on February 22, 2023, the ministry released additional legacy tools, including a documentary, testimony series, print and digital compendiums of achievements, and a digital legacy portal containing all Scorecard presentations.
Mohammed described the Scorecard Series as one of the most innovative and impactful campaign strategies in recent Nigerian political history, providing citizens with direct access to the government’s achievements and fostering constructive political discourse. The initiative highlighted sectoral reforms, policy milestones, and infrastructural developments, reinforcing the APC’s campaign message nationwide.
He added that the strategy shifted the dynamics of the campaign, placing verifiable information directly in voters’ hands and forcing opposition parties to constantly react defensively, often resorting to ad hominem arguments.
“The success of the strategy lay in its subtlety and strict adherence to facts rather than grandstanding,” Mohammed said. By anchoring the campaign on documented performance and verifiable records, the APC was able to reconnect with undecided voters and neutralize deliberate misinformation. The approach demonstrated the power of strategic communication in influencing electoral outcomes while respecting institutional responsibilities.
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