Arise: Jesutega Onokpasa, Festus Keyamo, Politicians Who Have Clashed With Rufai Oseni on TV
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 6-year-experience covering politics in Nigeria
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FCT, Abuja - Arise TV anchor Rufai Oseni and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jesutega Onokpasa, clashed on live television on Monday, October 30.
Legit.ng reports that the clash started when Rufai said the Nigerian economy began to dwindle after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came into office in May.
Source: Facebook
1) Arise TV's Oseni vs Onokpasa
Onokpasa, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), had appeared as a guest primarily to speak on President Tinubu’s victory at the Supreme Court. The apex court, last week, affirmed Tinubu winner of the February 2023 poll.
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While responding to a question about hardship in the country occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, Onokpasa said Tinubu did not remove fuel subsidy. He presented his reason. Oseni then countered the APC supporter and stated that he was 'misrepresenting the facts'.
Onokpasa interrupted the journalist, expressed his serious displeasure with Oseni, and threatened to walk out of the station's studio.
The video of the clash is trending on X (formerly Twitter).
On the back of the bitter response from the APC chieftain, Legit.ng writes on other politicians who have clashed with or criticised Oseni during interviews.
2) Oseni vs Keyamo
Before the Tinubu administration, Festus Keyamo, an APC stalwart, criticised television anchors who he said "invite guests to debate with them — and not to interview them".
Keyamo while reacting to a claim by Oseni during a live interview alleged that journalists like the Arise TV broadcaster "don’t present the contrary views out there and ask guests to respond".
He accused Oseni of descending into the arena of conflict, expressing his personal opinions, and "arguing" with guests. According to the Delta-born politician who is currently Nigeria's minister of aviation and aerospace development, such a habit is "very unprofessional".
3) Fayose vs Oseni on Arise TV
In March, former Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose and Oseni clashed during a live TV broadcast on Arise TV. Fayose is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but supported opposition leader, Tinubu for the February presidential election.
The 'clash' started when Rufai faulted Fayose's call for Nigerians to move on after the violence witnessed during the March 18 gubernatorial election.
Rufai while responding to Fayose's call said:
‘"All you have said is a justification of illegality in our country and a lot of people are taken aback because you yourself have been secretly recorded by an Army captain when you were hatching election fraud plans in 2014 and we all remember that experience. So is it that we should continue with that now?
"And I would also like to ask this honestly, if another person apart from Tinubu that you supported won this election, would you come on air and say all of these things that you are saying that people should move on without justice?"
Responding, Fayose said it was an attack on his personality and he would not condone it. He stated that he had objected to coming on Arise TV specifically because of Rufai but that he was promised by the co-anchor, Reuben Abati, that he (Abati) would moderate the show professionally.
Tinubu's camp slams Arise TV owner
In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that the rift between Tinubu's camp and AriseTV/ThisDay Newspaper heightened as the ruling party attacked the owner of the media company.
In a statement jointly signed by Bayo Onanuga and Dele Alake, Tinubu's allies described Arise TV's proprietor, Nduka Obaigbena, as an "unscrupulous hustler".
Source: Legit.ng
