Tinubu says Atiku and Obi are campaigning only on Facebook, in a message read by Shettima at Akure rally

President Bola Tinubu says opposition candidates Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have limited their campaigns to social media, particularly Facebook, while the All Progressives Congress is mobilising supporters across the country. His comments, delivered through Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the APC presidential campaign rally in Akure, Ondo State, on Wednesday, were reported by Daily Trust and The Eagle Online. They are campaign claims by the ruling party.

"All opposition have been conducting their campaigns on Facebook," the president said in the message. He questioned the strength of Atiku, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress, in his home state of Adamawa. "Of all the five governors that have ruled Adamawa State, none of them are in alignment with Atiku Abubakar," he said. "This is a clear indication that he cannot offer anything."

Shettima, speaking in his own remarks, said Atiku could not unite Adamawa, let alone Nigeria. He named Adamawa's past and present governors since 1999, from Boni Haruna to Murtala Nyako, Bala Ngilari, Muhammadu Jibrilla Bindow and the current governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, and said none of them was aligned with the former vice-president. "Our political opponents can conduct political rallies on Facebook and on Instagram," he said.

On Obi, the president's message said the former Anambra State governor had no tangible achievement beyond what it called "obnoxious data". "How can he offer anything?" it asked.

Tinubu recalled the turnout at earlier APC rallies in Kaduna, Cross River, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Ebonyi, and the reception the party received in Ondo. He urged APC leaders in the state to put aside their differences and work for victory.

He said Ondo, which has 2.1 million registered voters, should deliver at least 1.2 million votes for the party. He also directed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the state coordinator of the presidential campaign, to open his doors to all party leaders so that they could contribute to the campaign.

Earlier, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda said Ondo has three ministers in the federal cabinet: Taiwo Oyedele, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo and Ayodele Olawande.

Neither the ADC nor Obi's party had responded to the remarks in the reports reviewed. Both camps have in recent weeks held their own rallies and consultations, and the exchange shows how sharply the parties are now attacking each other as the campaign season builds.