Following the barrage of attacks in form of an article co-written by the aides of the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Messrs Dele Alake and Bayo Onanuga, on Thisday, Arise News Channel, and its media group have jointly issued a statement.
The publisher in Chief, Nduka Obaigbena, CON through his media group has now responded to all the allegations levelled against him and his media company.
The group noted that attacks from the duo of Alake and Onanuga were described as false and baseless, adding that it has no iota of truth in them.
Arise/ Thisday Media group categorized its responses into four phases for clarity purposes.
The group claimed that Obaigbena was a senatorial candidate in 1994 under the auspices of the National Republican Convention (NRC) while MKO Abiola was in the Social Democratic Party (PDP) and as such couldn’t have supported or worked for him in 1993.
However, the group insists that Obaigbena and Abiola were best of friends even as political opponents as at then.
It added that they started working together again the moment the Abacha junta came into power in 1995 and ended the SDP, NRC debate.
The group further explained that Abiola’s last public outing was an Obaigbena event at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in 1994.
Continuing the group noted that Abiola and Obaigbena stumbled on eachother on a flight to Johannesburg and still chatted all through the trip.
On the expulsion of Obaigben’s medium from the United Kingdom, over tax payment, the group said that the matter is still in court and wouldn’t want to give details on it but claims Alake and Onanuga were still economical with the truth.
The group also claimed that Alake and Onanuga lied about Obaigbena’s detention by Economic and Financial Crime Commission, saying that he was invited and cleared by the body upon interrogation.
The group added that the Nations Newspaper owned by Bola Tinubu also got an invitation by EFCC.
Continuing, it said the former president was challenged in court over some irregularities and sanctions against Newspaper houses and he agreed to settle out of court and paid the sum of 10 million naira each to 13 media houses that met deadline applications.
It added that the Buhari administration asked that the money be refunded claiming it was taken from the government purse which Thisday obliged.
On the 500 Million, Alake and Onanuga claimed Obaigbena collected, he said the government offered to pay compesation following Thisday office complex attack by Boko Haram.
The government offered to pay compensation or rebuild the complex.
The group claimed that the money has since been refunded and the office complex still unbuilt till today by the Nigerian government.
On the allegation of owing staff salaries, the group claims that the staffers of both Thisday and Arise TV are being paid as and when due.
It accused Bayo Onanuga of overseeing a media organization in 1996/97 where staff salaries were owed with impunity, thereby triggering staff protest in the process and forcing protesting staffers to forfeit 5-months salaries as contributions to domestic struggles.
However, The group posited that the harsh economic conditions, high cost of living have forced many media house to owe salaries or liquidate because many cannot meet up any longer.