ABUJA/Nigeria: Fresh political controversy erupted across Nigeria’s social media space on Wednesday after the Presidency strongly denied the authenticity of a viral WhatsApp voice note allegedly featuring President Bola Ahmed Tinubu pleading with opposition figure Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
The controversial audio, widely circulated by social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), sparked intense political reactions and online debate after the speaker in the recording, purportedly President Tinubu, allegedly claimed he had appealed to Obi to step aside ahead of the next general election.
But reacting swiftly, the Presidency dismissed the recording as fake, manipulated and politically motivated, warning against the growing spread of misinformation and digitally altered content capable of misleading the public.
Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, condemned the circulation of the audio and called for legal action against VeryDarkMan for disseminating what he described as false and deceptive content.
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform,” Onanuga stated in a strongly worded reaction posted online.
The controversy erupted at a politically sensitive period, coming barely days after President Tinubu secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the party’s nationwide direct primary election held on May 23, 2026.
Tinubu overwhelmingly defeated his only challenger, businessman and APC chieftain Stanley Osifo, polling 10,999,162 votes from over 12 million registered party members, while Osifo secured 16,503 votes.
Political observers believe the emergence of the viral audio highlights the growing intensity of the political battle ahead of the 2027 presidential election, which is already shaping into a major contest among Nigeria’s leading political blocs.
Peter Obi, who finished third in the 2023 presidential election, is widely expected to contest under the platform of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is anticipated to emerge as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The Presidency’s strong response has also drawn attention to increasing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence, manipulated media and viral misinformation in influencing public perception ahead of future elections.
Meanwhile, supporters and critics of the administration have continued clashing online over the authenticity of the recording, exposing what analysts describe as the growing digital battlefield likely to shape Nigeria’s next election cycle.
As the political atmosphere gradually intensifies ahead of 2027, the controversy surrounding the alleged voice note underscores how modern political warfare is increasingly being fought beyond traditional rallies and campaign grounds — through viral content, online influence and control of public narratives.
