By Afolayan Sunday
Tempers flared on Thursday during the live broadcast of Arise Television’s The Morning Show as co-anchors Dr. Reuben Abati and Rufai Oseni engaged in a heated on-air exchange.
The confrontation erupted over remarks made concerning the 2027 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Sandy Onor.
The morning broadcast took a dramatic turn when the discussion shifted to a trending video featuring the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
In the viral clip, Wike boasted that he would comfortably secure both the FCT and Rivers State for President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2027 general elections.
Weighing in on the development, Oseni strongly criticized Wike. He questioned why a prominent national leader of the opposition PDP would openly campaign for an APC incumbent.
Escalating his commentary, Rufai alleged that the PDP presidential candidate had been reduced to a “Gbewudani”, a Yoruba term he translated to mean “hold my clothes”, for maintaining silence while a senior party chieftain worked openly for a rival political camp.
“You cannot say that there is a PDP candidate and you are openly saying that you are going to support Tinubu. That means you are making a mockery of the PDP candidate,” Rufai added.
However, Abati quickly cautioned him against making such defamatory comments about individuals, warning he could be sued for defamation.
“Rufai, be careful; you’ll bring lawsuits on this station that the station will never be able to pay. Only you have maliciously impugned the integrity of the PDP candidate. You have also created innuendo to tarnish the image of Sarafadeen Alli. Be careful,” Abati warned.
In a counter response, Rufai dismissed the warning, insisting that Wike’s position amounted to making a mockery of the PDP presidential candidate.
“It’s only when I disagree with your views that you start shouting lawsuits“, he retorted.
