The Arise TV duo of Reuben Abati and Rufai Oseni, alongside other media outlets such as Sahara Reporters and Guardian newspaper, have been slammed by Nigerians for stoking confusion and anger by promoting a false report of an approved increment to the salary of public officers.
The media actors, as if acting in coordination, all uncritically published a report that alleged the new administration had approved a 114% salary increment for public officers, including the President, Vice President and other elected officials. They credited the claim to a comment by a state official of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission during a presentation in Kebbi State.
Although the said official gave a report of the agency’s attempts to review the Act of 2008 which stipulated the remuneration package of public officers to date, there exists no evidence that the proposal was neither actioned nor marked for approval by the new president.
In fact, the call for the review and report that rationalized predated the new administration, as the RMAFC kicked off the process last year with various stakeholder engagement exercises. In February, before President Bola Tinubu was sworn-in, it held a zonal public hearing on the subject, summoning concerned parties, including segments of the Nigerian public, to offer their views on the proposal.
Abati, Rufai and other media outlets accused of spreading the fake report skipped the important details and presented inaccurate notions of a plot by the new administration to jack up its reward packages at the time it encouraged Nigerians to endure the inevitable pain accompanying the termination of the corrupt oil subsidy regime.
Many have called for their action not to be considered simple reporting error but rather a premeditated and deliberate attempt to incite the public against the government. They highlighted Arise TV’s penchant for amplifying anti-government reports without mandatory verification.
Cited examples include the broadcast of a fabricated letter that purportedly came from INEC claiming it would investigate the then-candidate of the governing party over frivolous claims of a foreign indictment. Arise TV, where Abati and Rufai ply their trade, lent legitimacy to the fake report by airing the letter and the narrative it sold without as little as contacting INEC to verify a claim of such magnitude.
The development has resulted in fresh calls for stricter media regulation in the country, as many fret over the danger that the unethical and partisan conduct of certain actors in the industry portends for the stability and well-being of the nation.