Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president-elect, has asked the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to penalize Channels Television for violating the Nigerian Broadcasting Code during an interview with Labour Party vice presidential candidate Datti Baba Ahmed, Entrepreneurng report.
The petition was dated March 30, 2023, and was signed by Bayo Onanuga, Director of Media and Publicity for the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign council.
“In line with Section 14.0.1 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code 6th edition,” Tinubu wrote in the petition, “the APC PCC hereby petitions the commission on breaches by CHANNELS TV on its program “Politics Today” last week.”
This section states that the commission must accept complaints from harmed people, organizations, or members of the public and investigate them as well as impose sanctions when necessary.
The vice presidential candidate for the Labour Party was accused by the president-elect of making various comments that questioned the credibility of the presidential election on February 25, 2023.
In the appeal, Tinubu also made the point that the host of the program should have warned the Baba-Ahmed against making such irresponsible remarks, and for failing to do so, the station should face consequences.
The petition claims, in part, that President Muhammadu Buhari shouldn’t take the oath of office because he didn’t receive 25% of the vote in the Federal Capital Territory, which is a requirement for being considered the victor.
This is a subversive remark considering that it is one of the matters raised in their appeal to the tribunal for resolution. The INEC position as stated in the final results is therefore the status quo unless the court orders otherwise.
According to Section 3.8.1(b) of the NBC code, “A Broadcaster should ensure that no program contains anything which amounts to subversion of established authority or challenges the unity or corporate existence of the nation as a Sovereign state,” as quoted in the petition.
“A violation of Section 5.3.3(b), which states that “A Broadcaster shall avoid divisive and inflammatory matters in its provocative form in using political material,” was noted in the petition when Mr. Datti said later on the same program that “President Buhari should hand over to the President-elect by 29th May, that would be the end of democracy.”
Also, Section 3.0.2.1 stated that no Broadcaster may promote or incite criminal activity, promote hate or disruption in the public, or distribute items that are offensive to the general populace.
In conclusion, we implore NBC to impose the appropriate penalties on Channels Television for the violations listed above.
Source: PunchÂ
