The Presidency has criticised Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni following his heated exchange with colleague Reuben Abati during Thursday’s edition of the station’s Morning Show.
The exchange occurred after Rufai described the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Senator Sandy Onor, as “Gbewudani” while commenting on the political activities of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike.
Rufai was reacting to a trending video in which Wike said he would work to deliver the FCT and Rivers State to President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2027 presidential election.
The television host questioned why Wike, who remains a national leader of the PDP, would publicly support Tinubu rather than the PDP’s presidential candidate.
Rufai subsequently described the PDP candidate as “Gbewudani”, explaining the expression as “hold my shirt”, suggesting that the candidate was allowing Wike to campaign for another party’s presidential candidate without responding.
His comment prompted Abati to caution him against making statements that could expose the station and others to legal action.
“Rufai, be careful, you’ll bring lawsuits on this station that the station will never be able to pay,” Abati said.
Abati accused Rufai of making comments capable of damaging the reputation of the PDP presidential candidate and another politician.
“Only you have maliciously impugned the integrity of the PDP candidate. You have also created an innuendo to tarnish the image of Sarafadeen Alli. Be careful,” he added.
READ ALSO: 2027: You Will Get A Lawsuit— Abati Warns Rufai Over Wike Remarks
Rufai, however, pushed back against the warning, suggesting that Abati frequently invokes the possibility of legal action when they disagree.
“It’s only when I disagree with your views that you start shouting lawsuits,” Rufai responded.
The exchange subsequently attracted the attention of President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala.
Reacting in a post on his official X handle, Bwala criticised Rufai’s conduct and accused him of repeatedly attacking the character of other people.
“That’s what you get when you recruit a narcissistic OAP masquerading as a journalist,” Bwala wrote.
“There is no day he does not defame people’s character. But when you say one thing about him, he will tweet 24 times in a day against you.”
The comments have added another dimension to the ongoing debate over the role of journalists and television commentators in political discourse ahead of the 2027 general elections.