The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) yesterday rejected the campaign jingle of the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) General Muhammadu Buhari on grounds that it contained messages that were offensive to the government. The jingle is the first intended to be run by the CPC on the national network. One of Buhari’s campaign aides who does not want his name in print told Daily Trust that after booking the advert and making necessary payments, they were later told that the jingle would not be ran on NTA because it was critical of government. The NTA authorities therefore demanded that such areas be removed.


Director General of the Buhari campaign Alhaji Sule Hamma confirmed the incident, explaining that the jingle was turned down because it contains things like “no good roads,” and so on. “They said it was critical of the PDP government. By implication, NTA belongs to PDP,” he said. When asked what the campaign would do in view of the development, Alhaji Hamma said the CPC will explore constitutional means to seek redress.

He said the regulator body, NBC, has to ensure that every political party gets equal access to the media as provided by the law.

Attempts to speak with the NTA authorities last night failed.

Are there good roads? Yea, the truth is bitter.