Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo south, has praised the late Raymond Dokpesi for using his media platforms to resist former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s alleged third-term bid in 2006.
Dokpesi, who died in 2023, was the founder of DAAR Communications and owner of Africa Independent Television (AIT) and RayPower.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday at the second Raymond Dokpesi Diamond Lecture organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Oshiomhole described the late founder of DAAR Communications as “a courageous patriot” who used AIT to promote accountability and national dialogue.
“Dokpesi’s station truly lived up to the name ‘Africa Independent Television’; it gave room for both state and non-state actors to express their views,” PUNCH quoted Oshiomhole as saying.
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The former Edo governor recalled that AIT’s live coverage of the national assembly debates during the third-term controversy compelled lawmakers to remain accountable to their constituents.
Oshiomhole added that despite facing regulatory threats for giving voice to critics, Dokpesi stood his ground.
“When senators and representatives stood up to speak, they knew their constituents were watching,” he said.
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“If we talk about using the media to promote national interest, Dokpesi was there.
“Even when the regulator threatened to withdraw AIT’s licence for allowing a smallish man like me to ‘trouble a big man from Ota’, he remained firm.
“He never used his station to run down the country but to promote national conversation.”
The senator, however, lamented that Dokpesi’s generosity was not always appreciated by those he helped.
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“My only complaint, which I made before he passed, was that he supported a political party that didn’t reciprocate his goodwill,” he said.
“For us in Edo, we’ve lost a statesman who helped people on merit.”
MOMOH: DOKPESI PLAYED KEY ROLE IN STOPPING OBJ’S THIRD TERM AGENDA
Abubakar Momoh, minister of regional development, also paid tribute to the late media mogul, crediting him for rallying lawmakers against Obasanjo’s alleged constitutional amendment plan.
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“This is the man that should be credited for stopping it,” Momoh said.
“He called me and said, ‘You are my brother; make sure you work with your people to ensure that the third term agenda does not succeed.’”
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Momoh said Dokpesi not only used AIT to amplify opposition to the tenure-extension plan but also personally contacted legislators to ensure the bid failed.
He added that Dokpesi provided free airtime on AIT during his 2019 political campaign and consistently supported leaders from Edo State.
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“It will take a very long time for us to forget all the things that he did,” the minister said.
“Even when I had challenges in the 2019 election, his television station aired my activities free of charge.”
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Momoh recalled that the late broadcaster once told him he would become a minister one day — a wish he said has now been fulfilled.
OBASANJO’S REBUTTAL
On September 20, at a democracy dialogue in Accra, Ghana, organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Obasanjo denied ever pursuing a third term in office.
The former president said no Nigerian, living or dead, could provide evidence to substantiate such claims.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it, and there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, who would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” Obasanjo said.
