Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Federal Government of plotting to gag the media ahead of the release of President Bola Tinubu’s records in the database of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Shaibu said this in a Sunday statement after the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) issued a final warning to Arise TV over its programming deemed inimical to public order in the country.
He described the broadcasting regulator’s action as a tip of the iceberg of the Tinubu-led FG’s plot to suppress the media to prevent coverage of the FBI files.
Shaibu said the Director-General of NBC, Balarabe Ilelah appeared to be ready to do anything to retain his position, noting that the broadcast watchdog has been watching while Television Continental (TVC) refused to balance its reports through airing opposition views.
“Back in February, the NBC tried to show a bit of fairness and fined TVC for unprofessional broadcasts, including the airing of the Joint Media Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council press briefing, where Festus Keyamo said Obasanjo and Atiku ran a criminal enterprise and an empire of fraud in Abuja.
“However, since Tinubu became president on May 29, the NBC has become more partisan than ever. The NBC boss, Balarabe Ilelah, is obviously seeking to retain his appointment and is now dancing to the tune of the APC and their master at the Presidential Villa.
“The NBC has now been co-opted into a grand plot to gag the media over Tinubu’s certificate scandal. Having lost the battle in the court of public opinion, they are now trying to use the powers of the state to browbeat the media into silence. This is indeed shameful for a man who claimed to be a hero of the June 12 struggle,” he said.
Shaibu urged the media to show courage, saying they must not shy away from covering the release of the FBI files that would be released later this month.
He said the documents when released would reveal details of investigations on Tinubu.
Atiku’s aide stressed that the traditional media must not leave the dissemination of information about the FBI files to social media alone.
According to him, the media must rise up to its role as the watchdog of society as enshrined in Section 22 of the 1999 constitution.