How I Helped Tinubu Win 2023 Elections Without Rallies

How I Helped Tinubu Win 2023 Elections Without Rallies – Lai Mohammed
Scorecard initiative showcased Buhari administration achievements
Strategy countered opposition claims and boosted Tinubu’s chances

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has revealed how a carefully designed communication strategy helped the All Progressives Congress and President Bola Tinubu secure victory in the 2023 general elections.

Mohammed disclosed this in his newly unveiled book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration, which chronicles his experiences while serving under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that he recalled that ahead of the 2023 elections, President Buhari directed ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of agencies to remain focused on governance and avoid campaign activities, warning that violators would be sanctioned.

According to Mohammed, he complied with the directive but adopted a different approach that avoided rallies and partisan rhetoric. Instead, he said his focus was on defending facts, documenting government performance and countering what he described as deliberate misinformation.

He explained that opposition parties pushed a dominant narrative that the APC led Buhari administration had failed and lacked achievements to present to voters. Mohammed described the claim as false and part of a coordinated attempt to discredit the government and weaken the party’s electoral chances.

“As the popular aphorism goes: Say it loud, say it often, and it no longer matters if it’s true,” Mohammed wrote.

To counter the narrative, he said his ministry adopted a two pronged strategy of showcasing achievements and confronting misinformation. He revealed that 130 days to the election, on October 18, 2023, the ministry launched the PMB Administration Scorecard Series covering 2015 to 2023.

The initiative featured ministers presenting evidence based reports of achievements in their sectors, followed by question and answer sessions with journalists. Mohammed said the programme was widely distributed across traditional and digital media platforms.

He added that three days to the polls, additional legacy materials were released, including documentaries, testimonials, achievement compendiums and a digital legacy portal containing all scorecard presentations.

Mohammed said the approach reshaped the campaign, forced the opposition on the defensive and helped the APC reconnect with undecided voters through verifiable facts.