Author: philip
“The recently elected President, Bola Tinubu, has urged the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to take action against Channels Television for allegedly violating the Nigerian Broadcasting Code. Referring to Section 14.0.1 of the 6th edition of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code, which outlines the NBC’s responsibility to receive complaints from the public and apply sanctions when necessary, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has submitted a petition to the Commission. The petition alleges that CHANNELS TV violated broadcasting regulations during its weekday 7pm programme ‘Politics Today’ last week. The petition was drafted on March 30, 2023, according to Tinubu.”
In a petition signed by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, on behalf of the Special Adviser for Media, Public Affairs, and Communications, Tinubu accused Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), of making incendiary comments that impugned the integrity of the presidential elections held on February 25, 2023.
The petition stated that Datti claimed that the LP won the elections, which is a fallacy and not supported by evidence. According to broadcasting regulations, a broadcaster is responsible for the statements made by their guests, and they can be held liable for inaccurate and unfounded claims.
The only reliable and factual figures available are those released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which placed the Labour Party in third place
The individual who appeared on the program, Datti Baba-Ahmed, expressed the opinion that President Muhammadu Buhari should not be inaugurated as the President-elect due to his failure to obtain at least 25% of the votes in the FCT, which is a prerequisite for being declared the winner. This statement can be considered subversive as the matter is currently before the tribunal and is one of the issues being presented in their petition to the courts for resolution. Therefore, until the court issues a ruling, the INEC position as declared in the final results remains the status quo. Furthermore, Datti Baba Ahmed’s comments regarding the Labour Party winning the presidential vote undermine the authority conferred upon INEC by the 1999 Constitution, as it is the body responsible for conducting and announcing the results of national general elections in Nigeria.”
