The Director, Media and Publicity, All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Bayo Onanuga, has tasked AriseTV to stop arm-twisting the Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, into participating in its Presidential Town Hall meeting scheduled to hold on 4 December.
According to Onanuga, “The APC Presidential candidate has his own schedule of campaign activities and other engagements within and outside Nigeria. One such event is his scheduled event for Monday, December 5, 2022, at Chatham House in London where he will speak on Security, Economy and Foreign Policy. Tinubu travelled to the United Kingdom early today (Saturday) for this earlier scheduled engagement. We want to reiterate for the umpteenth time that no amount of blackmail, intimidation and media bullying and innuendos by the owner and management of Arise News will change the position our campaign has taken on this matter.”
He described as “shocking and downright anomalous” that Arise News continues to broadcast the participation of Tinubu in its Presidential Town Hall meeting, despite our earlier statement that he would not be available.
He further stated: “We noticed that Arise News has also been running a campaign on the so-called constitutional duty of the presidential candidates to participate in its debate by dubiously citing section 22 of the Constitution of Nigeria on the obligation of the Mass Media. While it is trite that the media has a clear constitutional duty to hold public office holders accountable to the citizens and its role as the watchdog of the society, there is no part of the Constitution and section 22 that says a presidential candidate of any political party and least of all, Tinubu must participate in Arise News Town Hall event or any media organised an event at all. The same Constitution grants all citizens of Nigeria including, Tinubu, the right and freedom of choice and association. The APC Presidential candidate has a right to decide where he goes and events to participate in as he seeks the mandate of Nigerians to be elected as the next President of our country.”
He made it abundantly clear that Tinubu will not participate and will not attend the Arise News Town Hall meeting slated for Sunday, 4th of December, 2022 and any other ones it may plan before the February 2023 presidential election.
