24th May, 2023
by Nimot Sulaimon
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has summoned Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the THISDAY Media Group and Arise TV, to order.
Dabiri-Erewa made the statement on Wednesday, via her official Twitter profile, after station presenter Ayo Mairo-Ese accused her of referring to Nigerian youngsters as cults and drug traffickers on her broadcast.
Mairo-Ese accused both President Muhammadu Buhari and Dabiri-Erewa of demarketing Nigeria while analyzing the contentious comments of a UK-based Nigerian Youtuber, Emdee Tiamiyu, against Nigerian students in the United Kingdom.
She said, “I don’t know why Nigerians like to demarket Nigeria on the international scene. Take it back to 2016, our president, the Chief ambassador of Nigeria referred to Nigerian vouths as largely lazy and that the United Kingdom should not grant young people aslum because some of the Nigerian vouths are criminals.
“The Chairman of NiDCOM, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri had referred to Nigerian youths as cultists and drug dealers, some of them. So, what Emdee Tiamiyu is saying is what some of the leaders have said.”
Reacting to the allegation, Dabiri who worked as a broadcast journalist for years before veering into politics, said that the Arise TV anchor was ruining the broadcast profession.
“I worked hard to be where I am today, and if women nowhere your age and achievements feel the only way to bring you down is to spew nonsense, they will meet their waterloo! Nduka Obaigbena had better call these girls @ARISEtv ruining the broadcast profession to order” she said.
In another tweet, Dabir-Erewa said she hardly watches the Arise TV morning show and doesn’t know the ladies who anchor the show.