Emperor Tenebe, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state, has denied claims that he served as an INEC-accredited observer during the June 20 Ekiti governorship election.
Tenebe spoke on Tuesday during an interview with African Independent Television (AIT).
On Saturday, images circulated on social media showing him in what appeared to be an INEC observer vest.
The photos sparked criticism online.
‘I was in Ekiti’
Tenebe admitted that he travelled to Ekiti during the election.
However, he said he attended in his capacity as a party chairman.
According to him, APC state chairmen agreed to support one another during off-cycle elections.
“We have a forum of APC state chairmen all over the country,” he said.
“We all agreed that in any stand-alone election, we have to support our fellow chairmen.”
“That was how I got to Ekiti, not to monitor elections.”
‘The image was created with AI’
Furthermore, Tenebe dismissed the viral images as fake.
He claimed artificial intelligence generated the photos.
“What you saw on the internet is a creation of AI,” he said.
“It was not me.”
“I was never accredited, and I have never been accredited.”
Blames Dino Melaye
Meanwhile, Tenebe alleged that the image first appeared on the social media page of Dino Melaye.
He accused the former Kogi senator of spreading the content for political reasons.
“The first place I saw it was on Dino Melaye’s handle,” he said.
“He is an opposition figure.”
According to Tenebe, opposition parties circulated the image after losing the election.
“They lost the election woefully,” he said.
“I think they were trying to generate one thing or the other from it.”
‘AI will cause problems’
In addition, Tenebe warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
He said AI could create serious challenges if left unchecked.
“It is a creation of AI,” he said.
“I maintain it.”
“AI is going to cause problems for everybody in this country.”
