Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has revealed how he helped the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu secure victory in the 2023 general elections without organising political rallies.
Mohammed made the disclosure in his newly launched book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration, where he documented his experiences serving under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, his approach aligned with Buhari’s directive to ministers and heads of government agencies to focus on their official duties and refrain from active political campaigning ahead of the polls.
Kano Times recalls that Buhari had issued the warning at the end of the 2022 Ministerial Performance Review Retreat in Abuja, stressing that any violation would attract sanctions.
Explaining his role, Mohammed said he adopted a strategy that relied on facts, documentation and public accountability rather than rallies or political rhetoric.
“Without prejudice to the presidential directive, I deployed campaign strategies not through rallies or sloganeering, but by defending the truth, documenting performance and ensuring that history was not rewritten by propaganda,” he said.
The former minister noted that before the elections, opposition parties consistently pushed the narrative that the APC-led Buhari administration had failed and had no achievements to present to Nigerians.
He described the claim as “a deliberate and coordinated attempt to discredit the administration and, by extension, the APC and its presidential candidate.”
“As the popular aphorism goes, ‘Say it loud, say it often, and it no longer matters if it’s true,’” Mohammed stated.
He said to counter this narrative, he adopted what he described as a “two-pronged strategy” focused on showcasing achievements and challenging misinformation with verifiable facts.
“Exactly 130 days to the general elections, on October 18, my ministry launched the PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015–2023),” he said.
“The objective was to present verified accomplishments of the Buhari administration and shape public perception during a politically critical period.”
Mohammed explained that under the programme, ministers presented evidence-based reports of achievements in their sectors, followed by question-and-answer sessions where journalists interrogated the claims.
To widen public reach, he said the ministry employed a multi-platform communication strategy using both traditional and digital media.
He further revealed that on February 22, 2023, three days before the elections, the ministry unveiled additional legacy tools, including documentaries, testimonial series, printed and electronic compendiums of achievements, as well as a digital legacy portal.
“The legacy portal is a digital repository accessible from anywhere in the world, containing all presentations from the scorecard series,” he said.
Mohammed described the scorecard initiative as one of the most innovative electioneering strategies in recent Nigerian political history.
“It gave Nigerians unfettered access to the achievements of the outgoing administration, with detailed ministry-by-ministry presentations highlighting policy achievements, infrastructural development and sectoral reforms,” he added.
According to him, the strategy altered the dynamics of the campaign by placing verifiable facts directly in the hands of citizens, forcing opposition parties to “constantly play catch-up.”
“With these strategies, the opposition found itself on the defensive, largely resorting to ad hominem attacks,” Mohammed said.
He stressed that the success of the approach was rooted in its reliance on facts rather than political grandstanding.
“By anchoring the campaign on documented performance and verifiable records, the APC was able to reconnect with undecided voters and neutralise deliberate misinformation,” he said.
Mohammed concluded that the experience reaffirmed the power of strategic communication in shaping electoral outcomes without compromising institutional responsibilities.
