Lai Mohammed, former information minister, has disclosed how he helped the All Progressives Congress and Bola Tinubu to win the 2023 presidential election.
Mr Mohammed disclosed this in his recently inaugurated book, ‘Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration’, which chronicled his experiences as a minister under President Muhammadu Buhari.
“As the popular aphorism goes, ‘Say it loud, say it often, and it longer matters if it’s true’. Fully aware of the insidious nature of this campaign, I adopted a two-pronged strategy: To systematically showcase the administration’s achievements and to decisively counter the opposition’s misleading narrative.
“Exactly 130 days to the general elections, precisely on October 18, 2023, my ministry launched the groundbreaking PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023). The goal was to present verified accomplishments of the Buhari administration and shape public perception during a politically critical period.
“Under the programme, ministers presented concrete, evidence-based reports on their respective sectors. Each session included a robust question and answer segment during which journalists critically interrogated the presentations and sought clarifications,” he stated.
To ensure maximum visibility, Mr Mohammed said he deployed a comprehensive multi-platform communication strategy that leveraged both traditional and digital platforms.
The former minister also recalled that on February 22, 2023, just three days before the election, his ministry unveiled the final set of legacy documentation tools. T
Mohammed said the legacy portal was a digital repository accessible from anywhere in the world that contained all the presentations from the scorecard series.
“By doing so, it not only set the tone for the constructive political discourse, but also powerfully reinforced the ruling party’s campaign message across the length and breadth of the country,” he said. “Apart from disseminating information, the innovation of the Scorecard Series also shifted the dynamics of the political campaign itself. By placing verifiable facts and government achievements directly in the hands of the citizens, it compelled the opposition to constantly play catch-up.”
Mr Mohammed claimed that the strategies ended the opposition’s unfounded narrative around failures or unfulfilled promises of the Buhari regime.
(NAN)
