David Hundeyin, a Nigerian investigative journalist has alleged that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia’s presidential bid is being funded by a lobby group in Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).
Hundeyin’s claim posted on Twitter was to drive home a point he was making about the extent to which lobbying and other subtle strategies can go to affect political outcomes and serve interest of lobbyists.
He cited the case of UK government backing groups in Nigeria’s north to buttress his point stating in one of his tweets: “Have you ever wondered how the UK government always seems to be aligned politically with the northern establishment? Yes there is historical context, Harold Wilson, bla bla bla but what else is the reason?
“It’s because of several organisations like the Arewa Consultative Forum,” his tweet read.
The part on Bawumia and the ACF was by way of an example to back up his earlier tweet, it read: “These think tanks and lobby groups spend *millions* of dollars annually on local and foreign political astroturfing on a scale you cannot begin to comprehend.
“For example, the ACF is funding a Muslim candidate (Mahamudu Bawumia) in Ghana’s 2024 election. You already know why.”
Meanwhile, the tweet has generated considerable engagement with Ghanaians dismissing his claims or demanding answers from the Bawumia campaign which is in full swing ahead of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primaries.
Pro-Bawumia lawmaker and Majority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh has dismissed the claim describing it among others as a ‘shameful antic.’
See Hundeyin’s tweet below:
These think tanks and lobby groups spend *millions* of dollars annually on local and foreign political astroturfing on a scale you cannot begin to comprehend.
For example, the ACF is funding a Muslim candidate (Mahamudu Bawumia) in Ghana's 2024 election. You already know why.
— David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) July 16, 2023
