Dr Tom Ohikere is former commissioner for information in Kogi state and Managing Director of the APC NewsOnline and Television. In this interview with Blueprint, he speaks on the media outlet, the achievements of the APC-led federal government as well as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s flagbearer in the 2023 presidential election.
Can you tell us about the APC NewsOnline and television?
APC NewsOnline and television is a media and publicity outlet established with the sole purpose of abridging perceived gap in communication between the APC-led federal government and the people of Nigeria. It also seeks to promote and project the image of the APC, making it an acceptable brand among the Nigerian electorates.
It is divided into two sections. The online news section and the broadcasting section on the other hand. Though it is independent of the party secretariat, it has enjoyed and has continued to maintain the blessings and continuous cooperation of the party’s hierarchy in its operations.
So basically, we are doing pro-government and pro-party PR against the active and unyielding propaganda of the opposition parties. We know the government has done so much in terms of project delivery, especially in infrastructural development, most of which have not been covered and communicated to the Nigerian public by the mainstream media outlets. So, these and more is what the APC NewsOnline is doing round the clock to counter the emanating negative narratives and create more awareness about the policies, projects and implications, short and long term implications.
So far, our work has been gradually growing and expanding, in terms of operations and partnerships. So, we are good and we expect more from what we are doing.
How do you see Bola Tinubu’s emergence as the flagbearer of your party, the APC?
It did not come with much surprise. We know the influence he wields in the party and government since the formation and eventual ascendancy of the APC in 2015. It was not easy though. My party has a remarkable and competent array of aspirants, it is only fair and necessary that one should emerge. The delegates have spoken, and it is loud and clear. Tinubu has demonstrated wit, political dexterity and commitment and all those have eventually paid off. He is undisputedly deserving to be the candidate of our party, even much better through an open and transparent process, and not the consensus mode, which would have bred reservations and factionalism.
But the delegates have chosen him, and his fellow aspirants have been coming to congratulate him. You can see that the party is united and elated. We are committed to consolidating on the emanating gains and legacy of the Buhari administration while charting a new course of social development and transformation.
He has promised to take everyone in the party along, which is essential and necessary if the party is to be victorious at the 2023 general election.
How was your media outlets able to manage the intense wranglings and intrigues that preceded the presidential primary?
We have covered the events and intrigues with keen interest, and with neutrality and objectively. We decided not to take any side until the party gets itself a befitting candidate. And now that that has happened, we are going all out to work for the party and its candidates from the presidential down to the state levels.
So, we managed the situation professionally and maturely. During the convention proper, we broadcasted the event live, interviewing key stakeholders, connecting the party to its base.
What is the immediate task before you now? What is the APC NewsOnline doing to promote and project the APC brand in order to contribute to the ultimate victory of the party come 2023?
We are doing a lot. Our Online media and broadcast station are doing a lot publishing and broadcasting contents of our party members and stakeholders related to the 2023 electioneering.
APC NewsOnline even has a collaboration with Blueprint Newspaper to produce a special document that will showcase the antecedents and achievements of all APC candidates at all levels, from the state assembly up to the presidential candidate. This effort has been further boosted by Tinubu Support Organisation (TSO) which has agreed to work with us across board.
We will also undertake a media tour of the federation to inspect and document the many projects of the Buhari led administration, in order to clear the misperception and misconceptions about the achievements of the Buhari – APC led federal government, setting the stage for the APC’s campaign of consolidation and continuation. We see these achievements as a starting point for the next administration, especially if it is an APC-led administration.
We feel if the people know what the president has done, particularly the futuristic and long term implications of the development and infrastructural programmes and commitments, they will be more inclined to vote the APC at the ballot.
Being in the frontline of image management for the party and incumbent administration, what would you consider the legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government?
The legacies of the Buhari-led administration are multi-dimensional. They can be seen in infrastructure, in agriculture, in the anti-graft war, In road transport, social investment and public – private partnership. They are there and varied. We see the second Niger bridge, the escravo pipeline, the Barro port, among others, much of which will yield results after this administration had exited power. So, in looking at the achievements of the incumbent, one must devise a complex standard and metric for measuring success. That is the implications and connected developments.
Most of the projects and programmes embarked upon by this government are strategic, with posterity at heart. You have heard of the link bridge connecting Nigeria and Cameroon, there is also one connecting Niger. There are also others fairly distributed within the country.
So that is it. While the economy and agriculture have been on the front burner, road infrastructure are also visible. And we intend to be make them available as time goes by on our website and online media page, @ www.apcnewsonline.ng
