Ignore Tinubu and reverse N5m fine against channel or face lawsuit, SERAP Urges NBC.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has requested the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to reject the petition filed by All Progressives Congress (APC) against Channels TV following its interview with Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had petitioned the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to sanction Channels Television for allegedly breaching the Nigerian Broadcasting Code during an interview with the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Baba-Ahmed had during an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, March 22, claimed that Nigeria had no president-elect given the irregularities and breach of the Electoral Act, 2022, and Constitution of Nigeria in Tinubu’s declaration as the winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He alleged that the Certificate of Return issued to Tinubu was a dead certificate as it was against the provisions of Section 134 of the 1999 Constitution, which states that anybody that would be declared president-elect must win 25 per cent of votes cast in at least two-thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The NBC had, however, in a letter obtained on Friday, slammed a fine of N5 million on the broadcasting company for breach of code.

SERAP in a tweet asked NBC to reject the saction request or face legal action.

“The NBC must reject the purported request by APC Presidential Campaign Council to sanction Channels TV over alleged interview of the Labour Party Vice Presidential candidate. We’ll see in court if the NBC ever acts on the request”, SERAP wrote.