By George Omagbemi
The Federal Government is planning to mobilise 4,000 social media influencers to showcase infrastructure projects and communicate the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration as Nigeria moves towards the 2027 general elections.
Minister of Works David Umahi disclosed the plan in Abuja while receiving a report from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) following its inspection of federal road projects across Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna and Sokoto states.
“We have to fight this social media war. So, we have to launch 4,000 social media influencers to tell our stories,” Umahi said, explaining that the proposed network would help communicate government projects, particularly to young Nigerians who consume significant amounts of information online.
The plan forms part of a broader 2027 communication and mobilisation strategy. Earlier, President Tinubu told his supporters that those campaigning for him should take the administration’s message beyond social media to wards, markets and campuses, while using facts to counter misinformation and gathering feedback from communities.
The proposed influencer network would therefore complement the government’s grassroots outreach by creating a much larger digital campaign for its infrastructure record.
However, key details remain unclear, including who will qualify, how the 4,000 influencers will be selected, whether they will receive public funds and what disclosure requirements will apply.
With political misinformation already increasing online ahead of 2027, transparency will be crucial.
The government will need to distinguish clearly between public information, government communication and partisan campaign activity, while ensuring that claims about projects are supported by verifiable evidence
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