KEYAMO FAULTS JOURNALISTS, OPPOSITION FIGURES OVER ‘NIGERIAN PEOPLE’ CLAIMS
Read Time:2 Minute, 15 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised some journalists and opposition figures for allegedly projecting their personal opinions as the collective will of Nigerians.
In a post shared on X on Thursday, Keyamo described the practice as “amusing,” questioning the basis upon which certain individuals claim to speak for “the Nigerian people.”
“It is amusing to see how some journalists and core opposition characters, posing as ‘activists’, continually express their own deep-seated biases as the wishes of ‘the Nigerian people’. How and where did they aggregate the views of ‘the Nigerian people’?” he wrote.
The minister challenged the methods allegedly used to measure public sentiment, asking whether such conclusions were drawn from “the usual suspects who gather at the entrance of the National Assembly and pose for cameras; or the 15 Senators who voted against the majority of 94 Senators; or the less than 25 House members who walked out on the majority of over 300 members.”
He also referenced “those vocal few who hop from one TV station to the next every day” and social media commentators, questioning how their views could be equated with national consensus.
Keyamo urged Nigerians to remain vigilant as the country approaches another election cycle.
“Nigerians should be alert as we enter an election season. Some journalists and almost every so-called ‘neutral’ commentator or activist you see or hear in the media are all working for one interest or the other,” he added. “They just don’t have the guts to come out with their full chest to openly support the political party or candidate for which or whom they are working.”
Keyamo’s remarks come amid heated debate over the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment), recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill was passed by the National Assembly on Wednesday. In the Senate, 65 lawmakers voted in favour while 15 opposed the measure. In the House of Representatives, 292 members supported the bill, with 24 voting against it and a handful staging a walkout in protest.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have criticised certain provisions of the amended Act, particularly those concerning electronic transmission of election results, arguing that they could undermine electoral integrity and potentially favour the ruling All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Tuesday’s plenary at the House of Representatives reportedly turned rowdy as opposition lawmakers clashed with their counterparts from the APC over demands for unconditional electronic transmission of results.
Observers have noted that while the debate has been intense, it has largely been driven by a vocal minority, raising questions about whether the views expressed in public discourse accurately reflect broader national sentiment.
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