The APC Presidential Campaign Council has explained its decision to evict an Arise TV journalist covering its candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s meeting with the private sector under the aegis of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) on Friday.
In a post on his Facebook page on Friday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the council, Bayo Onanuga disclosed that the journalist was “sent out” of the event held in Lagos.
Onanuga, who is also a journalist, wrote, “Arise TV cameraman clandestinely streamed live Asíwájú Bola Tinubu’s event in Lagos today.
“He was not authorised by anyone. He was clearly on espionage, but was busted and sent out. Is journalism by stealth part of the practice by Arise News?”
The post elicited diverse reactions, with many commentators questioning the rationale for evicting a journalist from a public event.
But in a clarification on Saturday, Onanuga explained that the APC Presidential Campaign Council was not against Arise TV.
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The campaign spokesman explained that the journalist was sent out of the event after he was discovered breaching its rule mandating journalists present not to broadcast the programme live.
He did not state if the journalist was informed of the rule beforehand.
“For clarity, the Tinubu-Shettima campaign is not against Arise TV covering its events.
“The Lagos NESG dialogue was not meant for TV live coverage. It was to be recorded and shown later.
“Other TV houses did not breach the rule, except Arise News. And it was done by stealth. Why?” Onanuga said.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council and management of Arise TV have been at loggerheads in recent times.
While the council accused Arise TV of bias against its candidate, the station accused the council of trying to shield its candidate from public scrutiny.