Africa Independent Television, has reacted to allegations of maltreatment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign organisation, during the election campaigns.
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Gatba Shehu, had stated during the recent Red Media Summit, that AIT treated shabbily, the Buhari campaign.
Garba Shehu had alleged that AIT and the Nigerian Television Authority rejected advertisement money from Buhari’s camp during the elections.
After almost a week of not responding, AIT released a statement on Wednesday, challenging Garba Shehu to provide the name of the office he dealt with and the officer who rejected money from the Buhari campaign.
The television station also claimed that it often obliged series of unusual discounts and concessions made by Garba Shehu, during the election campaign period.
Read below, full statement of AIT.
“Our attention has been drawn to the statement credited to Mallam Garba Shehu at the Red Summit Media Event that was held on Thursday Oct 15, 2015, claiming that there was maltreatment of the Presidential Campaigns of the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) by both NTA and our Television Station – Africa Independent Television (AIT) during the 2015 Presidential Campaigns,” AIT said in a statement.
“Much as we had resolved to maintain a dignified silence on this matter, in the interest of our collective civic duty and responsibility to our dear Country, the broadcast sector that we have played a pioneering role in since our debut into the sector, the entrenchment of independent broadcasting and the several cum selfless patriotic roles that we have diligently and repeatedly undertaken for and on behalf of the good people of Nigeria which amongst others is the protection of the democracy that we are all enjoying since the return of the country to democratic governance, we are compelled to address these claims.
“That DAAR Communications PLC was at the forefront of the struggle for the enthronement and protection of Democracy in Nigeria is indeed an incontrovertible fact.
That as an Organisation, we patriotically deployed all our resources to the struggle which have resulted in the loss and destruction of our stations, transmitters, equipment and facilities to mysterious fire, physical attacks and the clamping down on some of our Staff in the course of discharging their professional duties, are all political/historical facts which have been appropriately documented by Scholars and a common knowledge of Nigerians who were witnesses to the aberration perpetuated during the military rule in the country.
“In all of those trying times we remained resolute and kept our eyes on the goal with the belief that in the end, the success of democratic rule would be worth the challenges we faced.
Thankfully, Nigeria is now a democratic nation having succeeded in the democratic handover of power from the Military, through several civilian to civilian governments and from a ruling party to an opposition party, the first time in our history.
“It is however, not yet Uhuru. Democracy includes the right of the citizens to fairly air their views on any issues as long as they are within the confines of the laws of the land and provides for equal opportunity for all views irrespective of religious, ethnic or political differences and as an Organisation which values the tenets of democracy, we strive, always, to protect the rights of ALL citizens at all times.
“As a broadcast Organisation, we have much more at stake than any politician and administration whose tenure, by our laws, is time/term based while our role, duty and responsibility is by the grace of God; timeless! “With the foregoing, it is pertinent to respond to Mallam Garba Shehu’s claims.
“On the allegation of maltreatment through the rejection and denial of political campaign space on our Station, we wish to state categorically and emphatically that at no time did we reject or deny the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) broadcast space on our Station – Africa Independent Television (AIT). It has always been our policy to open up the democratic space to all the broad spectrum of actors in the political horizon.
“For the benefit of discerning members of the public and political academics who will obviously document some facts for historical purposes and the stock of public information compendium, we hereby challenge Mallam Garba Shehu to state the names of the Officer(s)/Department(s) that he dealt with and the officer(s) that returned the monies for the commercials that he claimed were rejected.
We feel pained, disappointed and betrayed by the allegation of maltreatment of All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaigns by Mallam Garba Shehu who at various times requested for unusual discounts and concessions, at short notices, which we often obliged in our spirited efforts of ensuring that we engaged all political parties; most especially the All Progressives Congress (APC) in our broadcasts so that we would be to all parties.”
