The All Progressives Congress (APC) has apologised to the former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, over a claimed “mix-up” of his picture used in a recent documentary of its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Duke, at a roundtable with editors organised by the Front Fort Media Initiative and the MacArthur Foundation, held recently in Lagos, accused the APC of using his image in the documentary of its presidential candidate.
He had accused the APC and its campaign team of passing off his photograph as a 12-year-old, as a young Tinubu, in a documentary titled ‘The Nation Builder.’
The documentary, referenced by Duke, was televised by TVC and also uploaded on various YouTube channels to narrate Tinubu’s life history; childhood, education, political journey, and achievements in the public and private sectors.
While admitting the error, a statement issued on Monday, by the Director, Media & Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said the usage of Duke’s photo was “an honest mistake for which all involved have accepted responsibility.”
The statement emphasised that: “Tinubu did not authorise the appropriation of another person’s image as his own” and blamed the mixed-up image on an error in a Google search.
The statement read: “We have taken note of the video in circulation, where former Cross River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, said his picture as a 12-year old boy and student of Federal Government Secondary school in Sokoto was used in a documentary to celebrate Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Our investigation further revealed that the picture in question has also surfaced in some of our campaign materials, on websites and Twitter accounts of Asíwájú supporters, along with a similar photo of besuited Asíwájú donning an Afrohair popular in the 70s and 80s.
“No one and not even Asiwaju’s personal photographers and the artists who designed the materials, have been able to explain how the photo was mixed up with the other photo, that represents Asíwájú’s teenage years. They all said they got both photographs in a Google search.
“We have called Governor Donald Duke to apologise for the unintentional mix-up and the error.
“The usage was an honest mistake for which all involved have accepted responsibility.
“We want to make it abundantly clear that Asíwájú Tinubu did not authorise the appropriation of another person’s image as his own.
“We also want to absolve the Presidential Campaign Council of any blame.
“To the traducers, who have been attacking Asíwájú Tinubu for what he knew nothing about, we want to appeal to them to be reasonable over this matter.
“We are in a campaign season where many supporters go out of their way to produce jingles, documentaries, posters, billboard materials and other promotional materials without the approval of candidates across political parties.
“The campaign council has in the meantime established a process for clearance and approval by individuals and support groups who seek to produce campaign materials for media use.”