Nigeria’s main opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has sharply criticised the federal government after a phone-in programme scheduled for South-west Osun state Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, on the federal government-owned Radio Nigeria was suddenly cancelled on Saturday. Osun state is one of the six states controlled by the ACN. In a statement issued here Sunday, ACN accused the federal government of ‘sliding towards despotism’ by its action, and demanded a public apology from Minister of Information Labaran Maku, who reportedly issued the instructions cancelling the programme, which was long scheduled and paid for.
The party also asked the regulatory Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately launch a probe into how a federally-funded media organisation can so wilfully deny access to any Nigerian, just because he is not a member of the ruling party.
ACN also said it would encourage the Osun state government to head to court to challenge what is clearly an illegal act by the federal authorities, in addition to demanding huge damages for FRCN’s failure to honour a contractual agreement.
‘The last time we checked, the opposition is still a part of Nigeria and the Action Congress of Nigeria is a Nigerian party. We are therefore concerned that a top member of the party and a State Governor for that matter can be denied access to a media organization funded by taxpayers. This is not just about FRCN but all federal government-owned media organizations and institutions.
‘It is clear to us that the Minister of Information, who should understand and defend the basic tenets of federalism, has allowed crass partisanship to becloud his sense of propriety. It is even worse that the Minister worked for many years as a journalist before finding himself in government, which should make him to act always from an informed position.
‘We are therefore demanding answers and seeking remedial actions for this shameful act on the part of the federal authorities,’ ACN said.
ACN wondered how the government of President Goodluck Jonathan can honestly seek a consensus on burning national issues, as he is reported to be planning to, ‘when he is denying Nigerians access to federally-funded media to air their views simply because they are in opposition’.