A heated exchange occurred on Arise News on Sunday when former APC National Chairman Hilliard Etta accused the station of focusing disproportionately on the shortcomings of President Bola Tinubu's administration. Speaking during a live broadcast on May 31, Etta claimed that Arise News and other media outlets neglect the infrastructural achievements of the current government.
Etta's allegations
Etta stated, 'I have never seen your station begin to profile the infrastructural projects that are in place today and how they will impact the Nigerian state. Even now... We watch Arise very keenly. Arise has become an opposition political platform.' He further alleged that some media organizations seem to celebrate the nation's security challenges. 'Even in the profiling of the security situation in Nigeria, it seems as if there is a celebration of what the militants are doing to our country. You have a sense that there is some kind of celebration about these ungodly attacks on Nigerians,' he added.
Anchors respond
In response, anchor Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie pushed back, saying, 'We all have to deal with serious mental health stress from reporting these stories every day, from seeing their mothers and their fathers... it is individually painful to Nigerians in a way that it may not reach the political elite.' The anchors defended their coverage, emphasizing the emotional toll on journalists who report on tragedies affecting ordinary citizens.
The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between media houses and political figures over the framing of news in Nigeria.
