Recycled Videos Fuel Clarifications as Hamzat Responds

A six-month-old video has placed Accord Party chieftain Oriyomi Hamzat at the centre of the latest disinformation dispute trailing Osun State’s August 15 governorship election, forcing him to publicly clarify his political loyalty.

The broadcaster, who doubles as the Accord Party’s governorship candidate in neighbouring Oyo State, took to his X handle on Tuesday to dismiss a circulating clip suggesting he backs APC candidate Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji over Governor Ademola Adeleke.

Hamzat traced the footage to June 21, 2025, when representatives of Oyebamiji attended the inauguration of his fan club in Ikire, Apomu, and Ikoyi and made a donation to the group. At the time, Oyebamiji had not yet emerged as the APC’s flagbearer for the governorship race.

“It is unfortunate that some individuals have chosen to recycle an old video, strip it of its context and present it as though it reflects the present reality,” Hamzat said in his statement.

He pointed to a specific line from his speech that day, telling Oyebamiji’s representatives to “go and get the ticket, then let’s see how it goes,” a remark he said proves he made no commitment to the APC candidate.

The clarification adds Hamzat’s name to a growing list of Osun political figures forced to address out-of-context or disputed video clips since campaigning intensified earlier in the year.

APC senatorial aspirant Akin Ogunbiyi faced a similar controversy in April, when a video purportedly showing him claiming President Bola Tinubu preferred Adeleke over an APC candidate went viral. Ogunbiyi dismissed the footage as manipulated and accused political opponents of trying to drive a wedge between him and party leadership.

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The Osun APC also moved swiftly that month to defend Ogunbiyi, with the party’s media director describing the circulating clip as a selectively edited version that left out his expressed support for Oyebamiji’s candidacy.

Beyond video disputes, the Osun race has grown increasingly tense in recent weeks. The Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council recently denied involvement in an alleged abduction incident involving Accord Party members, while a separate video showed an APC supporter narrating how he was shot for wearing campaign-branded headgear.

Both camps have traded accusations of propaganda throughout the campaign season. The AMBO Media Fronts, representing Oyebamiji’s campaign, accused the Adeleke administration in April of planning a coordinated negative media campaign against their candidate, a claim the governor’s camp rejected while issuing a list of accountability questions of its own.

Hamzat, for his part, used Tuesday’s statement to restate his alignment with Adeleke’s administration, describing it as people-focused and reaffirming that he stands “in one ACCORD” with the governor.

“Political engagement should be based on truth, integrity, and respect for the intelligence of the people, not on recycled videos intended to mislead the public,” he said.

The growing frequency of viral video disputes underscores a campaign season where digital misinformation has become as central to the contest as policy debates and campaign rallies. With less than two months left before Osun residents go to the polls, political observers expect more clips, old and new, to surface as both camps intensify efforts to sway public opinion.

Hamzat urged the public to treat the circulating footage with scepticism, describing those behind its spread as deploying distortion as a deliberate political strategy rather than honest engagement with voters.