Media Group Decries Alleged Smear Campaign Against NCC Boss

A group, Coalition of Independent Online Media Platforms, has decried antagonistic media reports targeting Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and its leadership, denouncing the study arsenic ‘misleading and politically motivated’.

In a connection jointly signed by​ Olubade Jimoh and Ibrahim Umar, president and caput of the group, respectively, they said the attempts to malign the idiosyncratic and bureau of the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, was not lone factually shallow but reeks of a coordinated effort to undermine his credibility, and incite distrust successful nationalist institutions.

“​We, the undersigned members of the Coalition of Independent Online Media Platforms, constitute to firmly cull and denounce the misleading and politically motivated work by Sahara Reporters dated September 29, 2025, titled: “EXCLUSIVE: How Relatives of Senate President Akpabio, Speaker Abbas, Other Political Elites Secured NCC Jobs Without Due Process.”

“​This report, which attempts to malign the idiosyncratic and bureau of the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, is not lone factually shallow but reeks of a coordinated effort to undermine his credibility, incite distrust successful nationalist institutions, and yet acceptable him astatine likelihood with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

“​Despite its sensational headline, the nonfiction provides nary verifiable documents oregon proof. It simply floats names and speculative associations. Without interior memos oregon grounds of process violations, the communicative amounts to conjecture — not journalism.

“The story, which continues to repetition a communicative that was published respective months is simply a planted fictitious communicative that conspicuously fails to supply the effect made by the NCC to this contented months backmost erstwhile it archetypal arose.

“​It is particularly ridiculous — and so laughable — that the study suggests Dr. Maida is seeking governmental relevance by allegedly going against the aforesaid President who appointed him. What relevance, if we indispensable ask, would a technocrat summation by joining forces with an absorption that holds nary powerfulness astatine the center? The assertion lacks some governmental logic and communal sense. The proposition that Dr. Maida is moving against the President is not lone baseless but insulting to the quality of Nigerians who cognize better.

“​It is nary coincidence that this work surfaces astatine a clip erstwhile the NCC is undergoing superior reforms nether Dr. Maida, some internally and successful the telecommunications industry.

“We person travel to recognize that these reforms are unsettling to entrenched interests who present edifice to blackmail via unverified media reports. We spot this for what it is: a hopeless determination to derail progress.

“Since Dr. Maida assumed office, helium has insisted connected transparency arsenic an attack successful however the NCC volition behaviour its work. He has besides ensured that trainings which utilized to beryllium allocated to unit based connected favoritism are present dispersed crossed cadres with absorption connected competencies.

“​We promote immoderate aggrieved enactment to contiguous grounds of misconduct to the due anti-corruption agencies oregon the National Assembly. Until then, this coordinated media onslaught remains unfounded. We basal with Dr. Maida and immoderate nationalist servant who upholds owed process, transparency, and work delivery.

“​As online publishers, we judge successful property state and responsibility. We impulse Sahara Reporters and others to verify claims earlier publication, alternatively than weaponizing journalism for governmental vendettas.

“​Dr. Aminu Maida remains a committed nationalist servant executing the mandate of the Federal Government nether President Tinubu successful Nigeria’s telecommunications sector. Attempts to discredit him done unsubstantiated publications volition not stand. We cull this smear run successful its entirety and commend the Presidency for remaining focused connected performance, not propaganda,” they stated.