According to the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s nominee for president, will never take part in a presidential town hall meeting hosted by Arise Television before the general election in 2023.
Bayo Onanuga, the council’s director of media and publicity, made this claim in a statement on Saturday that The Herald was able to receive.
Onanuga claimed that despite the council’s earlier declaration that Tinubu wouldn’t attend the Arise TV Town Hall meeting slated for Sunday, December 4, the broadcaster had persisted in using his name in advertising for the gathering.
He called the station’s actions “shocking and downright abnormal,” stating that Tinubu’s freedom of association is protected by the constitution and that he thus could not be made to attend any event he wanted not to.
“Despite our prior announcement that our candidate won’t be available, we find it shocking and simply odd that Arise News continues to broadcast Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s participation in its Presidential Town Hall meeting planned to take place on 4 December 2022.
“We have observed that Arise News has also been waging a campaign on the alleged constitutional obligation of the presidential contenders to take part in its debate by questionable referencing section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution on the responsibilities of the Mass Media.
“While it is cliché to say that the media has a clear constitutional obligation to hold public officials accountable to the public and to serve as the watchdog of society, there is no provision in the Constitution and Section 22 that mandates that a presidential candidate from any political party, least of all Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, participate in any media-organized event, including the Arise News Town Hall.
“The same Constitution guarantees the freedom of organization and free speech to all Nigerian citizens, including Asiwaju Tinubu. As he seeks Nigerians’ approval to become the nation’s next president, the APC presidential candidate has the freedom to choose the places he goes and the activities in which he takes part.
We wish to stress once more that Asiwaju Tinubu will not participate in and will not attend the Arise News Town Hall meeting scheduled for Sunday, December 4, 2022, or any subsequent gatherings the organization may plan before to the February 2023 presidential election.
Onanuga emphasized that “we don’t see the medium as credible and neutral” since “Arise News has continuously displayed a pattern of bias against Asiwaju Tinubu.”
He described the campaign schedule and other engagements that the APC presidential candidate has both inside and outside of Nigeria.
“One of these events is his scheduled appearance on Security, Economy, and Foreign Policy at Chatham House in London on Monday, December 5, 2022.
“Asiwaju Tinubu left early on Saturday for an earlier-than-expected engagement in the United Kingdom.
“We want to emphasize that our campaign’s stance on this issue will not be changed by any amount of extortion, intimidation, media bullying, or innuendos by the owner and management of Arise News, for the umpteenth time.
The statement went on to say, “We take this opportunity to caution our spokespeople and supporters to avoid this station due to its repeated unprofessionalism and bias towards our candidate and party.
