Politics
NESG: APC, Arise TV At Loggerheads Over Tinubu
Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council Bayo Onanuga, has accused Arise TV of secretly livestreaming an event featuring Bola Tinubu, APC standard bearer.
Tinubu was hosted as a speaker at a dialogue organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) on Friday.
Onanuga said the Arise TV cameraman was sent out of the event hall due to the non-authorisation of live streaming by the organisers of the event.
“Arise TV cameraman clandestinely streamed live Asíwájú Bola Tinubu’s event in Lagos today. He was not authorised by anyone. He was clearly on espionage, but was busted and sent out. Is journalism by stealth part of the practice by Arise News?” Onanuga wrote in a tweet on Friday.
While the tweet was folllwed by mixed reactions, Onanuga, in another tweet, said the event was to be recorded and aired at a later date.
“For clarity, the Tinubu-Shettima campaign is not against Arise TV covering its events. The Lagos NESG dialogue was not meant for TV live coverage,” he said.
“It was to be recorded and shown later. Other TV houses did not breach the rule, except Arise News. And it was done by stealth. Why?”
Responding, Yemi Ajayi, AriseTV’s news director, said coverage and live streaming of engagements of the leading presidential candidates in the forthcoming general election is an internal policy of the broadcast station.
Ajayi said the NESG presidential dialogue was not their first, as a similar event featured by Tinubu and other leading standard bearers had been aired live.
“I sent out a crew to cover the event, in line with our policy of covering the engagements of the leading presidential candidates in the general election,” Ajayi wrote.
“We did the same thing when the PDP candidate, Atiku, interacted with business leaders at an LCCI event in Lagos in Sept. 2022. Ditto for LP’s Peter Obi at the same LCCI event in Lagos the same period.
“We also did the same live coverage of Tinubu at Chatham House, London, and we were never harassed. This is part of our responsibility of helping our viewers to making an informed choice in the election.
“The team was led by one of Africa’s leading journalists, Boason Omofaye, who has been accredited to NESG for decades.
“All our cameras have capacity for live transmission in line with best global journalistic practice and in furtherance of this, it’s our policy to live stream, dip in and out of important events as we deem necessary.”
This is not the first time Arise TV will clash with the Tinubu campaign organisation over the APC candidate.
In November 2022, Arise TV organised a town hall series for presidential candidates.
For the first phase, PDP had Okowa represent Abubakar, while there was no representation for the APC.
Then the invite for the second phase was sent out.
What started like a passing drama following the APC’s excuse over Tinubu’s absence devolved into full-blown statement exchanges as Arise TV insisted that it is constitutional for candidates to attend such town hall meetings.
But Tinubu’s camp maintained its position that the APC candidate would not speak to Nigerians via the TV station’s town-hall platform.
The drama further evolved into claims by the APC camp that Arise TV intends to “embarrass” Tinubu.
But Nduka Obaigbena, founder of the media organisation, told the APC campaign to present its candidate for debate instead of resorting to “bullying”.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the submission process through the dedicated online portal.
“The submission window, which according to the revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, 8th August, 2026, has been extended to Tuesday, 11th August, 2026,” the commission said.
In a a related development, INEC announced the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
The electoral body explained that the deadline was necessary to enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on the total number of cards collected ahead of the election.
INEC said PVC collection in Osun commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise subsequently moved to the local government level and ran from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
It stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote.
INEC reassured Osun residents of its preparedness for the August 15 governorship election.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
“INEC reassures the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on 15th August, 2026,” the statement said.
The commission said the deadline, initially set for Saturday, 8 August, has been extended to Tuesday, 11 August 2026, following appeals from political parties for more time.
INEC also announced that the window for voters who applied to replace lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to download their replacement cards will close at midnight on Sunday, 9 August.
The move is to enable the commission compile final PVC collection figures ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election.
INEC said replacement downloadable PVCs have also been provided to affected voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums carted away cards from two collection centres, stressing that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
The commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in Osun State.
Gov. Kefas made the remarks over the weekend at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, during the flag-off of the second phase of the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach in Taraba State, organised as part of activities marking Prof. Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.
The governor commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing to mark his birthday by providing medical care to people in need.
“What Professor Nentawe did is a powerful demonstration of what leadership should be,” Gov. Kefas said.
He assured that his administration would continue to support initiatives that complement government efforts to improve healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yilwatda called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the culture of giving and use their positions to touch the lives of the less privileged.
He said his decision to celebrate his 58th birthday in Taraba State was deliberate and informed by the needs of underserved communities, particularly people who face difficulties accessing healthcare because of distance and financial constraints.
According to him, the intervention followed a needs assessment and was extended across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the exercise commenced on August 3 at Takum General Hospital and covered the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari; First Referral Hospital, Sunkani, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area; General Hospital, Bali; General Hospital, Gembu; and FMC Jalingo.
Prof. Yilwatda said the intervention provided medical services to thousands of beneficiaries, including people who required surgical procedures.
He said sustainable national development could only be achieved when strong institutions placed Nigerians at the centre of development.
“Leadership is about service,” he said, urging political and public leaders to make giving back to society an important part of their responsibilities.
He reaffirmed his commitment to serving Nigeria and its people, saying his personal vision was to make every day of his life useful to humanity.
“Every day that I live, the vision is: let it be useful to humanity,” he said.
The Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bordiya Buma, commended the initiative, saying it was consistent with the Renewed Hope agenda and efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Buma said the second phase followed the successful completion of the first phase, which was conducted simultaneously in six local government areas, with two LGAs selected from each of the three senatorial districts.
According to him, more than 10,000 patients were attended to during the first phase, including people with medical and surgical conditions.
He disclosed that 327 general surgeries, 71 eye surgeries and 575 dental procedures were carried out during the exercise.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach and thanked Prof. Yilwatda for supporting the initiative and choosing Taraba State as a beneficiary.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing Taraba State to mark his 58th birthday through a medical outreach.
Prof. Pate said making healthcare the centrepiece of the birthday celebration was significant because health affects everyone.
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