Ogun State’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of preventing the press from speaking out in an effort to silence the opposition.
The PDP claimed that the government of the APC and its leadership had continued to prevent unbiased media coverage of its activities out of fear of being criticized.
In a statement on Thursday, the opposition party explained that Ganiyu Obanibasiri, its senatorial candidate in Ogun West, was already seated in the studio of a private radio station, Hebron FM Ota, when agents of the ruling party called to ask that the program be stopped.
Akinloye Bankole, the PDP spokesman in Ogun, said in a statement that the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, had previously prevented the senatorial candidate from being received in his palace.
In part, the statement said: We have witnessed various forms of the emasculation of the electorate over the past few weeks, as well as a vehement determination to prevent the press from carrying out its role of providing unbiased media coverage (as members of the fourth estate of the realm) for all participating political parties, particularly PDP candidates.
“High Chief AbdulGaniy Adeleke Dada Obanibasiri, a well-known Awori son and traditional title holder, honored the invitation appropriately extended to him by the station’s management this morning at Hebron 95.9 FM Ota, our party’s senatorial candidate in Ogun West; only to be stopped when some APC leaders at the Ogun government house called the Head of Programs of the station while Obanibasiri was already in the studio.
“Members of the public would recall that the same desperate individuals prevented Oba (Prof.) Abdulkabir Adeyemi Obalanlege, the Olota of Ota, from attending to Obanibasiri when the latter attempted to pay a courtesy call to his royal father and traditional leader.
“That is the lowest a despot in need of help can go! However, we are also aware that neither media obstruction nor intimidation can prevent the APC from losing the election.
The PDP urged members of the public to remain resolute in their patriotic determination to rescue Ogun from the “shackles of the APC maladministration,” while also urging journalists to carry out their legitimate responsibilities with complete honesty and professionalism.
Donald Olulana, the program’s host, confirmed the cancellation when contacted, but neither the APC nor any government official was involved.
According to Olulana, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) requested that the program be halted in order to maintain objectivity and balance.