The Labour Party’s vice presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed has been warned by John Mayaki, the chairman of the Edo State Media and Publicity Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, to retract his remarks contesting the victory of the APC in the 2023 presidential election and Bola Tinubu’s legal status as the President-elect or face legal consequences.
In a contentious television appearance, Datti Baba-Ahmed had contested Tinubu’s victory by asserting that there is no president-elect in the country and that, as a result, there cannot be an official swearing-in ceremony and transfer of power on May 29, 2023.
But, speaking about the situation in a conversation with Vanguard, Mayaki stated that Datti Baba-Ahmed should also go to court in addition to the station that aired the interview being punished.
As citizens and co-owners of our nation’s democracy and stability, he said, “This is not a question of free speech; it is a question of what we must do when self-serving and irresponsible actors shout hate and dangerous divisive rhetorics into the loud and ubiquitous megaphones that are the conventional and new media.”
Despite of anyone’s personal preferences and feelings, the election resulted in a victor who will be sworn in on May 29 in accordance with the laws of this nation and the democratic standards we have upheld since 1999, when we regained our independence following years of violent struggle.
“It is utterly disgraceful for someone to put all of it at danger simply because the majority of Nigerians rejected his fantasy of grabbing power, giving him the confidence to go on television and propagate seditious and inflammatory remarks. We need to do more than just say sorry; we need to take concrete steps to make sure that such reckless behavior that could destabilize our nation never occurs again.
“Datti-Ahmed must deliver an instant retraction, along with an apology to the APC and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, or be brought in to answer for criminal incitement and sedition. Until he makes up for his carelessness, the media must enforce accountability and bar him from coverage.
This is consistent with the media’s responsibility to uphold the veracity of facts, which includes Bola Tinubu’s status as the next president.
Also, he praised Prof. Wole Soyinka, a Nobel winner, for his recent denunciation of Datti Baba-remarks, Ahmed’s noting that the literary giant had once more shown bravery where others had failed.
