2027 Election: FG plans to unleash 4,000 influencers to showcase Tinubu’s projects and "fight the social media war"

• The Federal Government plans to mobilise 4,000 social media influencers to showcase its infrastructure projects to Nigerians.

• Works Minister David Umahi linked the initiative to the 2027 elections, saying the government has enough projects to campaign on.

• Details about recruitment, payment and selection of the influencers have not yet been disclosed.

Imagine scrolling through TikTok or YouTube and suddenly seeing thousands of Nigerian content creators showing you a new federal road, bridge or highway project.

That could soon become part of the Federal Government’s strategy for telling Nigerians what it says it has achieved.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, says the government plans to mobilise 4,000 social media influencers to showcase ongoing and completed infrastructure projects nationwide as Nigeria heads to the 2027 general elections.

Umahi disclosed on Tuesday, September 22, in Abuja, while receiving a report from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on its inspection of federal road projects.

“We have to fight this social media war. So, we have to launch 4,000 social media influencers to tell our stories,” the minister said.

READ ALSO: Full list of major road projects President Tinubu has commissioned since taking office 

He said the proposed network would help the government reach Nigerians, particularly young people, who increasingly get information through social media. He also made it clear that the initiative is connected to the government’s desire to communicate its infrastructure record before the 2027 elections.

According to Umahi, the administration has enough projects nationwide to present to Nigerians.

“Tell me any way in this country, any region that is not a construction site. And so, we have enough to campaign for the President. We have enough,” he said.

READ ALSO: Umahi says God revealed Tinubu will rule for 8 years 

However, it is not yet clear who will qualify to become one of the 4,000 influencers, how they will be selected, whether they will be paid or when the mobilisation will begin.

The announcement followed a report presented by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) after it inspected federal road projects across Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna and Sokoto states. 

The students inspected several major routes, including the Kano-Maiduguri Road, Kano-Katsina Road, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, and Zaria-Funtua-Sokoto Road.

NANS also raised safety concerns around tertiary institutions and specifically recommended a pedestrian bridge near the Federal Co-operative College in Kaduna along the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway.

Umahi said the ministry would consider pedestrian bridges and access roads around university campuses in future infrastructure projects. 

The minister also updated on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the 105-kilometre paved section under construction is expected to be completed by November 2026.

READ ALSO: INEC warns AI-generated fake videos and voice notes could confuse Nigerians before 2027 election 

But he raised concerns about vandalism and motorists entering restricted construction areas, saying materials and infrastructure had been damaged.

For the government, the proposed influencer network could therefore do more than put road construction videos on social media. It would give the administration a much larger digital audience for presenting its infrastructure projects at a time when political parties and politicians are already preparing for the 2027 election cycle.