Nduka Obaigbena, owner of ThisDay and Arise News, has hit back at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, saying it is using blackmail to intimidate the media.
Gatekeepers Newsreports that Obaigbena, in a statement issued on Wednesday through his Chief of Staff, Fauziya Mohammed, also challenged the APC to present its Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu for debates.
Earlier on Monday, editors of THISDAY/Arise insisted that Tinubu must provide a satisfactory answer on the circumstances surrounding the forfeiture of funds to the US government. ThisDay and Arise News also accused the APC PCC of attempting to silence independent media.
In its response to the editorial statement on Tuesday, the APC PCC dismissed the allegations, describing them as “baseless” while also alleging that the THISDAY founder owes taxes abroad.
In a rebuttal issued on Wednesday, Obaigbena said contrary to the claims of Bayo Onanuga and Dele Alake, the APC campaign’s media director and adviser on communications, respectively, THISDAY does not owe tax authorities in South Africa.
Obaigbena said if they have any evidence, they should publish it, adding that the training THISDAY and Arise Television give journalists makes them desired by all.
“No misinformation, fake news of Bayo Onanuga and Dele Alake will change Obaigbena’s global trajectory,” the rebuttal reads in part.
“The journalists at THISDAY and ARISE News Channel are doing their duty by raising pertinent questions. Rather than addressing our questions, Alake and Onanuga countered with wild and misleading allegations and fake news.
“We did not dismiss their allegations and have addressed them frontally. We now challenge them to respond with facts to the legitimate questions of the Nigerian people through their media.
“Present your presidential candidate for town hall meetings, debates and interviews by the independent media that last for more than eight minutes, and not pre-arranged town halls where questions are pre-set, prearranged and rehearsed.
“The resort to media bullying tactics, blackmail and fake news will not work. Journalists are not your opponents in the 2023 elections.”
