Badeggi Radio station has challenged the Niger state Governor, Umaru Mohammed Bago to provide evidence of divisive programmes that bothers around terrorism and inciting the public against government broadcasted by the station.
The station said that the Governor is feeling threatened because the station interviewed someone interested in contesting in the 2027 elections because he does not want any other option apart from him.
The General Manager, Badeggi FM, Aisha Shuaibu Badeggi disclosed this when she spoke on a national television monitored by our reporter about the recent happenings after the threat of the Governor to shut down the radio station.
It would be recalled that on Friday, during an expanded meeting of APC stakeholders in Niger state, the Governor directed security agencies and the state Commissioner of Homeland Security to shut down Badeggi Radio as he alleged that the station’s activities are related to terrorism and they are inciting the public against the government.
“Everything we do has to do with data, so we are asking the Governor, where is his evidence. If he is saying Badeggi Radio have been unethical and that we are inciting the people against his government, we are asking him, where is his evidence?
He should submit the evidence to NBC, who should be able to look at this and sanction us if we are guilty.
“We cannot just rely on mere talks. If he is saying all these, he should provide the evidence and tactics. You don’t just talk in public because you think you can hold the microphone or because you are the Governor and you have the authority to talk. This is beyond talking, we need the facts and he should present it to the relevant authorities”, she said.
Badeggi clarified that their programmes and reports are always done within the ambit of NBC regulations and the ethics of Journalism practice, and they do not engage in activities that will cause chaos in the community.
She further explained that a recent interview with a former Head of the Federal Internal Revenue Board (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, may have triggered the action of the Governor, as Nami is said to have indicated interest in running against the Governor in the 2027 governorship elections in the state.
“From what we have seen, the Governor does not want any other person to come as an option in the state, especially as the APC has endorsed him for a second term. He sees Nami as a threat to him and that is what we felt made him say all those things about Badeggi Radio and threatened to shut us down.”
Badeggi further explained that the station is still operational despite a move by the state Urban Development Board to mark the building for demolition.
