{"id":161942,"date":"2025-05-10T22:40:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T21:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano"},"modified":"2025-05-10T23:43:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T22:43:37","slug":"ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano","title":{"rendered":"Ban on live political programs sparks media uproar, controversy in Kano"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>A rift has erupted between journalists and media executives in Kano State following a controversial directive from the state government banning live political programmes on radio.<\/p>\n<p>The directive, which emerged after a quarterly meeting convened by the Kano State Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs, was officially signed by Sani Abba Yola, Director of Special Duties in the ministry.<\/p>\n<p>It was presented as part of efforts to curb inflammatory broadcasts and safeguard Kano\u2019s cultural and religious values.<\/p>\n<p>However, the move has drawn widespread backlash from journalists, opposition politicians, and civil society organizations who argue it infringes on press freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Ado Saidu Warawa, Chairman of the Forum of Media Executives in Kano and Manager of Freedom Radio, denied that the state government was behind the directive. According to him, the decision to halt live political programming was made independently by media executives concerned about rising cases of defamation and incitement by political guests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe saw the need to suspend these programmes ourselves because political actors were using them irresponsibly to insult and defame others,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>However, several journalists in the state have rejected this claim, insisting the government has no legal authority to restrict broadcasting content.<\/p>\n<p>Veteran journalist Abubakar Haruna Galadanci, who has worked in Kano\u2019s media space for nearly two decades, told DAILY POST that only the National broadcasting Commission (NBC) is empowered to regulate broadcast content.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat the Kano government is doing is laughable. It\u2019s a clear overreach\u2014it\u2019s not within their powers to impose such restrictions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Abdurrashid Hussain, Head of New Media at Premier Radio Kano, echoed this view, describing the situation as a fundamental misunderstanding between the government and media stakeholders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the media truly decided on this course of action, the government should let the media speak for themselves. There\u2019s no need to preempt or enforce their decision,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>The ban has also sparked political condemnation, especially from opposition parties.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano, Ahmed Aruwa, in an interview with DAILY POST, strongly criticized the decision, saying the government was using it as a tool to silence dissenting voices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis government is not NBC. It has no right to dictate what programmes can air. We will challenge this decision at every level, including at the Presidency,\u201d Aruwa declared.<\/p>\n<p>He emphasized that political opposition is vital in a democracy and accused the Kano State Government of ignoring more pressing governance issues in favor of stifling political dialogue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey should focus on solving real problems instead of shutting down live political shows. This is happening in other states and even at the federal level\u2014why should Kano be different?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>Civil society and human rights organizations have also expressed concern.<\/p>\n<p>Comrade Auwal Usman, National Director of the Awareness for Human Rights and Charity Foundation, condemned the ban as an abuse of power by political officeholders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t believe Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf himself issued this directive. It appears to be the handiwork of the Commissioner for Information. Unless there is a law backing it, we won\u2019t comply,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Usman added that any attempt to suppress journalists under the guise of cultural protection is unacceptable, and his organization would resist it through every legal means.<\/p>\n<p>As of now, there is no clear legal enforcement mechanism for the directive, and its implementation remains uncertain. Media presenters, opposition politicians, and advocacy groups remain defiant, insisting the decision violates Nigeria\u2019s constitutional guarantee of free speech and a free press.<\/p>\n<p>The standoff continues to draw public attention in Kano, with calls mounting for the state government to clarify its position and respect the role of media in a democratic society.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. A rift has erupted between journalists and media executives in Kano State following a controversial directive from the state government banning live political programmes on radio. The directive, which emerged after a quarterly meeting convened by the Kano State Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs, was officially signed by Sani Abba Yola, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":161941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[34,372,17177,254,17178],"class_list":["post-161942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-apc","tag-kano","tag-live-ban","tag-nigeria","tag-political-programs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ban on live political programs sparks media uproar, controversy in Kano - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A rift has erupted between journalists and media executives in Kano State following a controversial directive from the s ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ban on live political programs sparks media uproar, controversy in Kano\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A rift has erupted between journalists and media executives in Kano State following a controversial directive from the s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-10T21:40:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-10T22:43:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746904454.732093.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1381\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1296\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ban on live political programs sparks media uproar, controversy in Kano\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-10T21:40:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-10T22:43:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano\"},\"wordCount\":640,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746904454.732093.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"APC\",\"Kano\",\"Live ban\",\"Nigeria\",\"Political programs\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ban-on-live-political-programs-sparks-media-uproar-controversy-in-kano\",\"name\":\"Ban on live political programs sparks media uproar, controversy in Kano - 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