The Special Assistant on Public Communication, to Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, has accused the government of President Bola Tinubu of perfecting a sinister plot to gag the media ahead of the release of the records containing his investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Shaibu said the threat by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to sanction Arise Television News was only a tip of the iceberg.
In a statement on Sunday, Shaibu posited that the NBC had been bias as it watch as media platforms like Television Continental (TVC) constantly attacking Atiku and had refused to even air opposition views.
According to Shaibu, Tinubu’s administration had become frustrated with the Chicago State University scandal and was planning a massive offensive in the coming days.
“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.”
Shaibu warned that this is not the time for the Nigerian media to show any weakness.
He expressed confidence that the trove of documents that the FBI would release this month would expose details of the investigation on Tinubu.
