Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has revealed how a carefully crafted media and communication strategy played a decisive role in the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general elections.
Mohammed made the disclosure in his newly launched book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration, which documents his experiences serving under the late President Muhammadu Buhari. According to him, the strategy was deployed without breaching Buhari’s directive that ministers should not abandon official duties for partisan campaigning.
He explained that rather than engage in rallies or political rhetoric, he adopted a two-pronged approach focused on defending facts and countering what he described as deliberate misinformation by the opposition. At the time, opposition parties consistently claimed that the Buhari-led APC government had no achievements worthy of re-election, a narrative Mohammed said was untrue and strategically amplified.
To counter this, his ministry launched the PMB Administration Scorecard Series on October 18, 2023, exactly 130 days to the elections. The initiative featured ministers presenting verifiable, evidence-based reports of achievements in their sectors, followed by rigorous question-and-answer sessions with journalists.
Mohammed said the programme was amplified through an extensive multi-platform media strategy, combining traditional and digital channels to ensure nationwide reach. He added that three days to the polls, the ministry unveiled legacy documentation tools, including documentaries, testimony series, printed and electronic compendiums, and a digital legacy portal accessible globally.
According to him, the strategy shifted the dynamics of the campaign by putting verified facts directly in the hands of Nigerians, forcing opposition parties into a defensive posture. He maintained that anchoring the campaign on documented performance helped the APC reconnect with undecided voters and neutralise misinformation, demonstrating the power of strategic communication in shaping electoral outcomes.
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