There were indications yesterday that a video cameraman with Channels television attached to the Presidential Villa in Abuja had been redeployed to the Senate over a viral video, where the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, were allegedly discussing possible arrest.
Multiple sources confirmed the development, saying the decision may have been influenced by the Presidency, which must have felt embarrassed by the video of such a conversation making it to the public domain.
The video had attracted comments from many Nigerians, with the National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Uche Secondus, calling on world powers to punish Gambari and Oshiomhole for their alleged conspiracy to subdue the opposition and rig the September 19 governorship elections in Edo State, from where the latter hails and have been governor.
The presidency had assured that the duo would not do anything to undermine a free and fair exercise, but Secondus declared that the threat to the country’s democracy was becoming more and more real by the day and urged the National Assembly to call for the tape of the video and examine thoroughly, its content, with a view to acting appropriately, adding that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act are clear on blatant undermining of democracy by clamping down on the opposition.
