Nigerian labour minister Festus Keyamo was rebuked on social media on Thursday after circulating stolen from Chicago images to misrepresent the turnout of supporters for Bola Tinubu’s campaign rally in Sokoto on Thursday. 

Mr Keyamo, a senior lawyer and spokesman for the ruling All Progressives Congress’ presidential campaign panel, tweeted the pictures on his Twitter account, which he captioned the “mother of all rallies.” 

“More pictures from the mother of all rallies in Sokoto! The signs are all there for all to see! But they are playing! Make dem dey play!! In about a fortnight, the jungle will mature!!,” the tweet read. 

The photo Mr Keyamo shared was from a music festival which took place in 2021 in Chicago. The picture had gone viral at the time for a massive violation of the COVID-19 protocols as many people gathered without protective measures at the peak of the pandemic. 

Mr Keyamo previously suffered public ridicule after using a picture featuring presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, in 2022. He claimed that the photograph was from a meeting where Mr Obi had purportedly agreed to work in favour of Mr Atiku’s presidential bid, but the former director-general of the LP PCC, Doyin Okupe, debunked the report.

The falsification was seen as a cushion for the tough time that currently besets the party and its presidential candidate Bola Tinubu in the north region. 

The vice presidential candidate of the party, Kashim Shettima, in a recent outburst, alleged that the north as a geopolitical zone has not given him the expected support because of his Kanuri heritage. His comments exposed the dwindling support the APC continues to witness across the north in the twilight of its eight years rule. 

Nigerians are due to participate in this year’s general elections on February 25.