A pro-Tinubu movement, the PBAT Door-to-Door, has distanced its Grand Patron, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), from a purported 21-day ultimatum allegedly demanding the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu.
National Coordinator Sunday Asuku dismissed the claim as “a desperate fabrication by fifth columnists uncomfortable with Tompolo’s growing influence in advancing national stability.”
The Politics of Proximity and Paranoia
In Nigeria’s post-conflict political landscape, proximity to power can be as dangerous as opposition to it. Tompolo’s public denial reveals how the digital age weaponizes misinformation to drag neutral actors into polarizing narratives.
The group’s strong rebuttal also demonstrates how the Tinubu-era political network is quick to insulate loyalists from controversial narratives that might jeopardize the administration’s stability agenda.
Image, Legitimacy, and Digital Warfare
By calling for the DSS to track the source of the fake statement, the group reframed its defence as a patriotic act, aligning loyalty with legality. Analysts say it highlights the “new hybrid battlefield” — not physical violence but information manipulation.
Reputation as National Capital
For Tompolo, whose name once defined militancy and now defines peace, brand protection is strategic. His denial reinforces his transformation narrative — from regional strongman to national stabilizer — a reputation that carries both moral and commercial value in Nigeria’s oil belt.
This is IDNN. Independent. Digital. Uncompromising.
