Candidate in the Edo 2020 Governorship election
A spokesman for the Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu Campaign
Organisation, John Mayaki, on Thursday said reports that his
principal asked Governor Godwin Obaseki to return to APC are
false.
In a statement forwarded to Channels Television via email,
Mayaki suggested such reporting was a continuation of the media’s
lack of news verification before publication.
Some news media (not Channels Television) had earlier reported
that Ize-Iyamu, in a television broadcast on Wednesday, had made
the appeal on Wednesday.
However, Mayaki insisted Ize-Iyamu is yet to address the press
since the election results were announced by the Independent
National Electoral Commission on Sunday.
He said the video being referenced was broadcast three months
ago.
“We warned several times that the media should beware of
fabrications from Obaseki and the PDP camp, but they did not
listen,” Mayaki said. “That is why they have reported that the
election was free and fair, and that is why they have said our
candidate appealed to Obaseki to come back to APC.
“The video in reference is from three months ago, not after the
election but doctored by Governor Obaseki media handlers to seek
undue legitimacy.”
Mayaki also wondered if the media was being sponsored by
Governor Obaseki and the PDP, as it seemed implausible that they
(the media) actually believed the story.
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“Pastor Ize-Iyamu was reported in the stories as speaking from
Abuja, but it was the Benin reporters that covered the story. Were
the reporters transported to Abuja? Do these media agencies
actually believe the stories they carry? Obaseki and the PDP has a
way of leaking false news to the media and the media has to be
sensitive and professional in receiving these news,” he said.
He also warned that there is a fake Twitter account purporting
to belong to Pastor Ize-Iyamu, which has been disseminating false
information. He warned the media to avoid it like a plague and
verify all their information before passing them on.
“I only wish the media had been more professional during the
elections; they were not and what is done is done,” he said. “They
don’t know how violent and anti-democratic it was in several parts
of Edo State, including Egor in Benin City, and so they reported
that the elections were free and fair. At least, going forward, let
them verify all news before passing it on. It is the basic ethic of
the profession.”
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/09/24/ize-iyamu-did-not-ask-obaseki-to-return-to-apc-says-spokesman/