Nigeria Communication Commission(NCC) reportedly shut down APC’s SMS Presidential Campaign Fundraising Platform. Barely 48 hours after the Buhari-Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Fundraising Committee launched some of its platforms for raising funds, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has shutdown the Short Messaging Service (SMS) platform – 35350 – meant to encourage small donors, especially young people, to do so.
Director of the Committee and Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, had on Tuesday unveiled five platforms, including partnership with five banks for donors wishing to pay cash towards the fund, the Electronic payment platform involving logging in on the APC domain name www.apcgmbpyo.org, the Short Messaging Service with 35350, the Ring tone and the Scratch Card platforms.
However, briefing the press at the Lagos House, Marina, on Thursday, Governor Fashola announced with regrets that before the end of Tuesday after the launch of the platforms, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) had issued a letter to the telecoms operators “not to carry political messages” thereby shutting down the SMS platform.
“I feel personally embarrassed to witness this very distasteful and disgraceful conduct by way of repression of freedoms”, says Fashola
“I feel personally embarrassed to witness this very distasteful and disgraceful conduct by way of repression of freedoms”, says Fashola
Governor Fashola, who on Tuesday also reported that the Federal Government had earlier shut down the APC’s main domain www.apcgmbpyo.com.ng forcing the Party to switch to www.apcgmbpyo.org, said by 2.30 pm after the launch of the platforms, the Committee had received 5,400 messages after which the messages stopped.
The visibly disappointed Director told newsmen, “It is with very deep sadness that I address you all today, because I never expected that I will witness in Nigeria some of the very distasteful and disgraceful conduct that the Federal Government, the PDP and the President have embarked upon, by way of repression of freedoms”.
“I mentioned the commercial nature of the transactions we had with the businesses who were partnering with us and the benefits to the economy. I also stated very clearly that these businesses had no partisan relationship but are providing professional service. I said so, in order to protect their businesses because of the increasing intolerance we were witnessing from the Jonathan and PDP Presidential campaign and some Federal Government agencies that have taken a partisan position”, the Governor explained.
No comments:
Post a Comment