Politics

NESG: APC, Arise TV At Loggerheads Over Tinubu

Published

3 years ago

January 16, 2023

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”.

Politics

LP Crisis: Ex-NWC Member Dumps Dumps Abure Faction

Published

5 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

A former National Organising Secretary of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Clement Ojukwu, has expressed regret that the several legal cases brought against the party since the 2023 general elections have impacted the party’s performance.

Mr Ojukwu, who recently returned to the interim National Working Committee led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, noted that the party had 34 elected members in the House of Representatives, eight Senators, and 80 members at the state Houses of Assembly after the 2023 general elections.

“Now we lost all of them,” he said. “I don’t think we have as many as five members in the National Assembly.”

The former national officer of the LP talked to journalists in Abuja and said he chose to join the caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi-Usman because they are now the officially recognized leaders of the Party.

“I chose to work with the caretaker committee to help save the Labour Party, for the benefit of the party. I also want to use this chance to ask my colleagues at the national, state, and local government levels to come together and help rebuild our party.

“Another election is around the corner. We lost everything we have. They have left to other political parties. So I’ll reach out to all my friends in the other group to get together and work on making this party stronger again.

“The caretaker committee has formed a reconciliation committee. Let’s come together and talk so that we can restore the first opposition political party in Nigeria.”

Mr Ojukwu, who was part of the Julius Abure’s group, said there are no more factions in the LP.

He added, “There is a court ruling, and since it is valid, the right people are in the correct positions.”

He urged Barr Abure and others to drop the legal cases they have filed because they are not helping the party.

“Litigations are killing political parties”, he said. “They’ve seen many political parties disappear because of legal battles, and the Labor Party is losing support every day, which makes me feel sad.”

Mr Ojukwu said he did not think joining the Senator Nenadi-Usman’s NWC was a betrayal of the Abure group, describing himself as “the oxygen” of that faction.

“I’m with this group because of the verdict. But I never betrayed anybody. Rather, I was betrayed,” he added.

Politics

2027: NIGERIANS FAULT INEC ON DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP REGISTER DIRECTIVE

Published

5 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

A number of Nigerians have strongly criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its directive to all political parties in the country to submit digitalized membership register within 32 days.

It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following it’s reversed timetable, directed all political parties in the country to submit their digitalized membership registers within 32 days.

Speaking on the reversed timetable in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, respondents said the directive amounted to disqualifying opposition political parties from fielding candidates in all the elections next year.

They said if the directives by the commission is implemented, only the All Progressives Congress (APC) would participate in the elections since it started it’s digital membership registration since February, last year.

Responding, an elder statesman in Rivers State, Chief Sunnie Chukumele, said the revised timetable was okay, but the timeframe for submission of digital membership register was being made at the wrong time.

Chief Chukumele said, for the past two years, all opposition political parties have been battling various issues in court, adding that they did not have the time to embark on membership drive, talk less of digitalizing their membership registers.

“My reaction is that the only issue with this revised timetable is the timeframe given by INEC for parties to submit digitalize memberships register in all the states of the federation, while giving notice of Congresses and convention. That is not possible”, he said.

He said only the ruling APC is likely to meet up with the directive, since it began its registration since last year.

Chief Chukumele, who is also the National Coordinator of Coalition of Rivers State Leaders of Thought (CORSLOT), alleged that the directive of the electoral body may have been targeted to prevent other parties from fielding candidates for the elections next year.

“When you say all the parties should submit digitalized registers of membership in 32 days, how will that be possible to conclude it in 32 days”, he queried.

He noted that “APC used one year ago to do, so APC has one year in the kitty plus 30 days. This is highly regrettable”.

The CORSLOT national leader urged the election umpire to do away with stringent conditions that will make it hard for opposition political parties to field candidates in the elections.

Also speaking, Mr Jacob Enware from Edo State queried the rationale behind the directive, especially when some opposition political parties are still having cases in court.

In his words, ”What opposition political parties are you talking about, is Labour Party not in court or PDP that is yet to resolve their issues?

”For me, INEC should provide a level playing field for all, because aside the APC, no party can meet up this criteria.”

In his own response, Mr Nathaniel Ebere said he was not prepared to vote for anybody whether INEC provides a level playing field or not.

He alleged that his vote would not count, “so I will not waste my time”.

By: John Bibor

Politics

IT’S A LIE, G-5 GOVS DIDN’T WIN ELECTION FOR TINUBU – SOWUNMI

Published

5 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Convener of The Alternative, Otunba Segun Sowunmi, has expressed reservations about the political stance of Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, while calling for reconciliation among key party figures.

Otunba Sowunmi made the remarks during a television interview on Saturday, when asked about the relationship between Gov. Makinde and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike.

He said, “I don’t believe Seyi Makinde. Because I know them all. I’ve been in this party since it was registered. And I’ve been loyal, faithful, diligent with this party from the get-go, and I’ve never left.”

He underscored his longstanding commitment to the PDP, referencing prominent figures who had exited the party at different times: “I’ve had the grace, and the honor, and the dignity of watching even my father, Obasanjo, shed his card. As much as I love him, I didn’t leave the party”.

He added, “I’ve had the privilege of watching my beloved senior brother, Governor Gbenga Daniel, leave the party a few times. As much as I respect his vision and his ideas, I’ve never left. I’ve watched my former principal, Atiku Abubakar, leave a few times. I’ve never left.”

Otunba Sowunmi stressed that his comments were rooted in deep involvement with the party: “So when I talk about PDP, I’m not talking as an outsider, I’m talking as one of their totems, who was actually carrying them.”

He disclosed that he wrote to Makinde during the governor’s last birthday, urging reconciliation among a bloc of five governors who had formed a movement during the 2023 elections.

“At Governor Seyi Makinde’s last birthday, I wrote him a letter where I tried to say, look, you guys, the five of you, succeeded to the extent of creating a movement of your own”, he said.

He added, “And you fought very hard to make a point in the 2023 election. Although I don’t believe you won the election for the president, that’s a lie. They contributed, but I hate when people take the glory of other people’s work.”

Otunba Sowunmi warned that unresolved differences among the group could weaken the party: “You guys, you must go back to your four friends, your five friends, and you guys go and sort it out. Because not sorting it out with your five friends is going to leave the party worse off.”

He added, “But now that you’re fighting, or you’re not agreeing with yourselves, why don’t you go back to that same energy that allowed you to agree, so that you can use that energy inside to agree, and then we can lead the party.”