In a stern warning issued today, the Ondo State Government has cautioned against deceit, bias, and hypocrisy in commentary on the state’s political situation. The government has specifically called out media personalities for their comments and urged them to adhere to the ethics of journalism.
The statement, conveyed by Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, expressed deep concern over the recent remarks made by Dr. Reuben Abati, a prominent figure in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and co-anchor of Arise Television’s Morning Show. Abati had raised questions about the whereabouts of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and his absence from Akure, the state capital.
Commissioner Ademola-Olateju accused Abati of displaying partisanship and aligning himself with political interests, characterizing his approach as “journalistic banditry.” The government strongly rebuked Abati’s statement that the Ondo State House of Assembly, currently engaged in impeachment proceedings against Deputy Governor Lucky Ayedatiwa, was working to predetermined outcomes.
In response to Abati’s allegations, Ademola-Olateju clarified that Deputy Governor Ayedatiwa has chosen to pursue his case through the judiciary, emphasizing the importance of due process in such matters.
Ondo State Government Knocks Arise TV for ‘Unguarded Remarks’
The statement reads:
“I have been inundated with calls from across Nigeria and the diaspora concerning a video clip of a version of the Morning Show on Arise TV. This supposed reportage on the happenings in Ondo State centres on the unguarded, mischievous, and obviously partisan role of the anchors of the programme, particularly Reuben Abati, a failed PDP Deputy Gubernatorial candidate on a joint ticket with the late Buruji Kashamu in Ogun State. This hypocritical outburst is typical of the accustomed notoriety of certain media outlets, prominent among which is the Arise TV.
“The inanities, emotive and utterly irresponsible utterances of Reuben Abati should elicit serious concerns among the regulatory bodies saddled with the onerous duties of ensuring that stragglers are restrained from traversing the bounds of professional ethics, decorum, and decency.
The increasing carelessness seems to be spreading due to the lack of enforcement of suitable penalties.
“It is no news that the Arise TV has become a platform liberally offered for the purveyors of ignorance and unabashed partisan interests disguised as fair commentaries. Abati appears to have surrendered this medium to journalistic banditry while discarding the cherished values bordering on ethics since he ventured into politics as a PDP activist under the former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“His often unprovoked, unrestrained expression of partisan rhetoric in political discourse, masked as informed and impartial interventions, rile the mind of decent people. He deceives the unwary, easily, and his consistent outpourings, and entrenched bias are mistaken for patriotism. He must be exposed for who he is, an irredeemable hypocrite.
“May we remind this all-knowing dissembler that his opinions, no matter how coated and twisted, are not as sacrosanct as facts, no matter how persuasive. Abati and fellow travellers will not teach the government and people of Ondo State on how best to run their affairs. He cannot claim to love the State more than its citizens and residents. He continues to descend into the arena of conflict depending on what catches his jaundiced fancy.
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“He practises something else, not journalism. It is utterly shameful that for perceived political differences and other reasons, Reuben Abati has become an advocate for brash and misguided behaviour. He should stop hiding under the umbrella of journalism to promote political hackers. It is about time someone told him to drop this shameful garb of deceit. Abati is not neutral.
“Abati descended, heavily, on the Ondo State House of Assembly for performing its oversight functions. He said the Executive Council has failed to meet. He, however, forgot to mention Ondo State workers’ salaries have been paid till the month of September 2023. He trod the path of deliberate amnesia on the judiciary. A fair analyst should not have missed the fact that the Deputy Governor had exercised his right under the law to file a matter in the Ondo State judiciary. No arm of government is hampered from discharging its statutory functions. It is, therefore, most uncharitable for Abati to have accused the Ondo State House of Assembly, of “working to an answer”. No respectable journalist should descend so low.”
