We can authoritatively report that the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Nigeria's public television, yesterday evening on its prime 9 p.m. news avoided reporting Saturday's historic crisis at the ongoing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Special Convention in Abuja, thereby once again taking sides with President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling party and betraying the facts.
At the convention, the ruling party openly and embarrassingly split in two, with several governors and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar walking away and immediately formalizing their own faction. There were also fisticuffs among delegates from Anambra State, but the NTA, preferring politics to professionalism, did not report that, either.
As monitored by mass media, NTA reported President Jonathan's address and of Vice President Namadi Sambo. It also carried two slide stories of Senate President David Mark and that of Benue State governor, Mr. Gabriel Suswan, after which the station continued with its live broadcast of the votes cast in Eagles Square, venue of the convention.
NTA is under the supervision of Mr. Labaran Maku, Nigeria's Minister of Information, as well as a board appointed by the president, which protect the PDP's government interests in the company. The editorial staff, according to a source, has been mandated to report only pro-Jonathan stories and turn down any material offensive to him.
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