The battle between the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) and THISDAY/ Arise TV has become messier and personal.
On Monday evening, the APC PCC in a joint statement by Dele Alake and Bayo Onanuga, both members of the council, attacked the founder of THISDAY/Arise TV, Nduka Obaigbena, over the editorial by the media organisation boards of editors.
In the statement, the PCC accused Mr Obaigbena and the media platform of corruption and lacking the moral rights to moderate public discourse.
The PCC and the media organisations have been engaging in open confrontations since the commencement of campaign activities ahead of the 2023 elections.
The friction between the two parties could be traced to the decision of the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, and his media team to shun the open invitation of the television network for an interview and the presidential town hall series.
Furthermore, the PCC expressed concerns over the reporting of the alleged 1993 money laundering and drug-related case in the United States, where the presidential candidate of the APC forfeited £460,000 in connection with the case.
In November, Mr Alake, on behalf of the PCC wrote a petition against Arise TV, a move that got the station to be sanctioned by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
Mr Alake’s petition was in respect of news aired by Arise TV that INEC was considering investigating Mr Tinubu’s involvement in the 1992 drug case. INEC, however, debunked the news as false.
In the petition, Mr Alake said the TV station allowed guests on their shows to label Mr Tinubu as “indicted” despite the evidence available to them.
Similarly, THISDAY newspaper published another news article claiming that Mueez Akande, one of the persons indicted in the 1992 case, died amidst the resurfacing of the drug case. However, it later emerged that it was Kolapo Akande, a sibling of the infamous Akande, who died.
Also, Mr Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the APC, refused to participate in the town hall series organised by the television station and some media organisations. Mr Tinubu’s team has repeatedly attacked the media organisation and accused it of bias.
Recently, the PCC urged its supporters to boycott the television station because of its posturing on Mr Tinubu.
On Monday, the boards of editors of the two media outlets issued an editorial, alleging that amid the face-off, Messrs Alake and Onanuga demanded the sack of two of its staff, Rufai Oseni and THISDAY Editor and columnist, Shaka Momodu, as conditions for resolution.
In the statement, the PCC accused the media organisation of partisan bias and lack of professionalism.
It described the proprietor of the Arise TV and THISDAY newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, as an unscrupulous hustler and blackmailer who has done tremendous damage to the journalism profession in the country.
