Dele Alake, Adviser Media, Communications on Public Affairs, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Organisation, has disclosed the reason the All Progressives Congress (APC) petitioned the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to demand that Arise TV be sanctioned over its fake broadcast on its Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Gatekeepers News reports that Arise TV station had aired a report that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was investigating Tinubu’s alleged crime bordering on narcotics and illicit drugs.
The Electoral body however debunked the report on Saturday, saying it was a handiwork of mischief and NBC on Monday slammed the media station with a fine of N2m for breaching the broadcasting code.
Alake who appeared on News Central’s Political HQ on Monday alleged that the agenda of Arise Tv “is to run down Asiwaju since the race started”, maintaining that the broadcast was ‘advertent’ and ‘preconceived’.
According to him, the channel has ‘consistently and deliberately’ subjected Tinubu to ‘ridicule’.
The Media Adviser who wondered why the media station rushed to broadcast a fake INEC letter without verification, noted that he was “compelled as a Media Practitioner myself to do that petition to the NBC because consistently, those two TV (referring to Arise TV and Channels TV) have shown unbridled animosity and enmity against our candidate (Tinubu).
“I will never quarrel with any media that has a political preference, it is a free choice, however, that must not be brought to bear on your, professional electoral stance.
Gatekeepers News reports that Arise TV, on Sunday, apologized to Tinubu and INEC for misleading the general public.
When asked if there was more to the issue of the broadcast which made him submit the petition despite the apology, he responded “that is not enough”. He stated that the apology does not “remove the injury brought upon our candidate (Tinubu) or to us or to our Party (APC).”
He stressed that the apology “does not sound genuine and does not elicit acceptance” as the recent broadcast was “unpardonable and grievous.”
Alake further noted that the court document that is currently in circulation on the alleged indictment of Tinubu on drug dealing and money laundering, first surfaced in 2003 when Tinubu was seeking second term Governorship election bid in Lagos State under the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the party he belonged at that time.
He explained that the party had written to the then Inspector General of Police to investigate the veracity of the document and the IGP, based on the letter received, wrote to the embassy to sought for help to unravel the mystery behind it.
According to Alake, the embassy replied by saying there was no record of criminality against Tinubu, “not even a traffic offence. That brought the case to rest in 2003.”
Alake expressed disappointment that the oppositions always bring back the document and other issues like ‘health’ with the hope of bringing down Tinubu.
“Why will you want Tinubu out of the race?” he asked rhetorically and continued that “it is because you know he will beat you hands down, so they throw everything in the book and the book the book at him.”
