Bola Tinubu, President-elect has asked the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to sanction Channels Television for allowing its platform to be used to make inciting comments about the February 25 presidential election.
Senator Tinubu in a petition to the NBC said Channels TV breached the Nigerian broadcasting code during an interview with the Vice-Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed sometimes last week.
In the petition that was signed by the All Progressives Congress, presidential campaign council director of media and publicity, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu accused the Labour Party Vice presidential candidate of making several comments that attacked the integrity of the 25th February 2023 presidential elections.
Datti had faulted the emergence of the former Lagos governor as the president-elect and requested the Chief Justice of Nigeria and President, Major Gen Muhamadu Buhari (retd) not to swear him into office when he appeared on Channels TV evening programme, ‘Politics Today’ last week.”
In the petition that was dated March 30 2023, Tinubu and his spokesman quoted Baba-Ahmed as saying:
“President Muhammadu Buhari should not swear in the President-elect because he did not score 25% of the vote in the FCT, being one of the prerequisites for being declared the winner.
“This is a subversive comment since the matter is among the issues submitted in their petition before the tribunal for adjudication. Therefore, until the court rules otherwise, the status quo is the INEC position as declared in the final results.”
It’s not clear yet if Tinubu’s party in government will heed the call and sanction Channels TV or not.
