Mayaki warns Datti Baba-Ahmed to retract comments about Tinubu or face legal action.

John Mayaki, Chairman, Edo State Media and Publicity Directorate, APC Presidential Campaign Council, has warned Datti Baba-Ahmed, Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, to withdraw his comments disputing the APC's victory in the 2023 presidential election and Bola Tinubu's legal status as President-elect, or face legal action.

Datti Baba-Ahmed had challenged Tinubu's victory in a television interview, claiming that the country does not have a president-elect and thus cannot hold a swearing-in ceremony and official power handover on May 29, 2023.

However, in an interview with Vanguard, Mayaki stated that, in addition to sanctioning the station that aired the interview, Datti Baba-Ahmed should face the law.

“This is not a question of freedom of speech but rather what we must do, as citizens and joint shareholders of our country’s democracy and stability, when self-serving and irresponsible actors shout hate and dangerous divisive rhetorics into the loud and ubiquitous megaphones that are the conventional and new media.” he said.

“Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings and preference, the election has produced a winner who will be sworn in on the 29th of May in accordance with the laws of this country and the democratic norms we have kept since 1999 when we won back our freedom after years of bloody struggle.”

“It is totally unbecoming for somebody to risk all of that just because his wet dream of seizing power was denied by the majority of Nigerians and for him to feel emboldened to go on television to spread inciting and seditious comments. This cannot just end at words; we must take action to ensure that there is never a repeat of such thoughtless action capable of throwing our country into chaos.”

“Datti-Ahmed must offer an immediate retraction, complete with an apology to the APC and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, or be brought in to answer for criminal incitement and sedition. The media, too, must ensure accountability and deny him access until he atones for his recklessness. This is in keeping with the media’s obligation to defend the truth and objective fact, which includes Bola Tinubu’s standing as the President-Elect.”

He also praised Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka for his recent condemnation of Datti Baba-remarks, saying that the literary giant had shown courage where others had failed.