Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is planning to stifle the media in anticipation of the release of Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) records.
He claimed that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) threatening to sanction Arise Television News was merely the beginning.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Shaibu noted that NBC had been closely monitoring the activities of media outlets like Television Continental (TVC), which had been consistently critical of Atiku and had neglected to broadcast opposing voices.
He claimed that the Tinubu administration had grown increasingly exasperated with the Chicago State University scandal and was gearing up for a substantial counteraction in the days ahead.
- “Back in February, NBC tried to show a bit of fairness and fined TVC for unprofessional broadcasts, including the airing of the Joint Media Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council press briefing, where Festus Keyamo said Obasanjo and Atiku ran a criminal enterprise and an empire of fraud in Abuja.
- “However, since Tinubu became president on May 29, the NBC has become more partisan than ever. The NBC boss, Balarabe Ilelah, is seeking to retain his appointment and is now dancing to the tune of the APC and their master at the Presidential Villa.
- “The NBC has now been co-opted into a grand plot to gag the media over Tinubu’s certificate scandal. Having lost the battle in the court of public opinion, they are now trying to use the powers of the state to browbeat the media into silence. This is indeed shameful for a man who claimed to be a hero of the June 12 struggle” he said.
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Furthermore, Shaibu claimed that Stella Okotete, a nominee from Delta State and a director at NEXIM Bank, faced a denial of ministerial confirmation due to alleged certificate forgery, despite her determined efforts to defend her position.
Atiku’s aide, however, wondered why the standard for the president of Nigeria was lower than that of a ministerial nominee and the youngster, Mmesoma Ejikeme, who forged her JAMB results from a third-party vendor.
Shaibu added:
- “Okotete claimed to have graduated from Benson Idahosa University in 2007 with a second-class lower grade in International Studies and Diplomacy and completed the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Kebbi State in 2009.
- “However, amid allegations of certificate forgery, the Senate refused to confirm her while the authorities continued to investigate her. However, in the case of Tinubu, who holds the highest office in the land, they want Nigerians to overlook it. They are asking Nigerians to focus on governance instead.
- “Isn’t it ironic that the bar has been lowered for the office of the president? Is it not mind-boggling that people who would not employ even third-class graduates in their private companies are the same ones now defending certificate forgery? The hypocrisy is indeed disturbing.”
