In his petition, Tinubu demanded that the station be penalized because the host of the program should have warned the Labour party candidate against making such careless remarks.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, has petitioned the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to penalize Channels Television for allegedly breaking the Nigerian Broadcasting Code while interviewing Labour Party vice presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed.
The president-elect had stated the following in a petition dated March 30, 2023, and signed by Bayo Onanuga, Director of Media and Publicity for the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign council:
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council hereby petitions the National Broadcasting Commission regarding what it believes to be violations by Channels TV last week on its program “Politics Today,” which airs daily at 7 p.m., in accordance with Section 14.0.1 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code, 6th edition, which mandates that the National Broadcasting Commission accept complaints from harmed persons, bodies, or members of the public and investigate as well as apply sanctions where necessary.
The former governor of Lagos State charged Baba-Ahmed with disparaging the credibility of the presidential election on February 25, 2023, in a number of remarks. Datti criticized Tinubu’s election as president-elect in the interview and sternly urged President Buhari and the Chief Justice of Nigeria not to swear him in.
In his petition, Tinubu demanded that the station be penalized because the host of the program should have warned the Labour party candidate against making such careless remarks.
The petition states, in part:
The Labour Party, according to Datti, won the elections. This is false and inaccurate. According to the Code, a Broadcaster is accountable when his guest is allowed to make a wild assertion that is erroneous and not based on fact. The Independent National Election Commission’s presentation of the final results, which ranked the Labour Party third, contains the only factual data that was scientifically compiled.
The guest on the program in question, Datti Baba-Ahmed, claimed that President-elect Muhammadu Buhari should not be sworn in because he fell short of the 25% threshold needed to be certified the winner in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Given that the subject is currently before the tribunal and was included in their appeal to the courts for resolution, this comment is subversive. The INEC position as stated in the final results is therefore the status quo until and unless the court orders otherwise.
The remarks made by the guest Datti Baba Ahmed on the Labour Party winning the presidential election undercut the constituted authority granted to INEC in the 1999 Constitution as the body empowered with the powers to conduct and declare the results of national general elections in Nigeria.
As a result, Mr. Datti’s remarks that the INEC certificate of return provided to the President-elect is a “dud cheque” and is therefore invalid are not only polarizing, subversive, and inciting, but also provocative.
The Code states in Section 3.8.1(b) that ‘A Broadcaster shall ensure that no programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity or corporate existence of Nigeria as a Sovereign state’.
He is inciting a call to rebellion against the government by using phrases like “handing over to the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be the end of democracy.” This runs counter to using the media to promote societal harmony and peace.
Our well-considered conclusion is that the visitor, Datti Baba-Ahmed, was not only inflammatory but also stoked opposition to the impending fraudulently elected government among members of the general public and Labour Party supporters. of Kashim Shettima and Bola Ahmed-Tinubu.
Hence, we implore the Commission to impose the appropriate penalties on Channels TV for the violations listed above.
