Confusion currently reigns at the headquarters of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, amid an unverified report alleging that President Bola Tinubu has relieved the Director-General, Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos, of his duties and appointed an entirely new management team, PRNigeria reports.
The report, which trended online on Thursday, claimed that Lagos-based sports entertainment executive, Rotimi Pedro, has been named the new DG of the nation’s public broadcaster. Also mentioned in the report is Karimah Bello from Katsina State, who is said to have been appointed Executive Director, Marketing.
Others allegedly listed in the shake-up include Stellah Din from Plateau State as Executive Director, News, and Sophia Issa Mohammed from Adamawa State as Managing Director of NTA Enterprises Limited.
However, no official confirmation has come from the Presidency or the Federal Ministry of Information, fuelling speculations and anxiety within the organisation.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, and Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, who are currently on a citizens’ engagement tour of Enugu and Ebonyi States, are yet to react to the development. Notably, they are accompanied on the trip by the incumbent DG, Dembos.
Insiders who spoke to PRNigeria linked the confusion to alleged leaks by “certain power blocs in government,” stressing that no formal announcement has been made through proper official channels.
“What we are seeing is very strange because even if such a decision was taken, it ought to come through normal channels,” one top NTA official said under the condition of anonymity. “For now, no one has told us anything. Everyone is just confused.”
Dembos, an Adamawa State indigene, was appointed DG in October 2023.
The six current Executive Directors — Ibrahim Aliyu, Muhammed Mustapha, Apinke Effiong, Tari Taylaur, Sadique Omeiza, and Oluwakemi Fashina — assumed office on September 27, 2024.
The controversy comes barely a week after a similar rumour claimed the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, had resigned — a claim that was swiftly debunked.
Observers warn that the situation at NTA underscores a disturbing surge in the circulation of unverified claims, as well as the government’s slow response to critical public information.
Until the Presidency or the Ministry of Information issues an official clarification, both NTA workers and Nigerians at large remain uncertain over whether Africa’s largest television network is truly on the verge of a change in leadership.