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 allegedly 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.
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.
The Fundraising Committee Director, who expressed deep sadness at the development, wondered why a commercial transaction that promotes business, the economy and jobs in the country should be frustrated, arguing that if traditional media such as radio, newspapers and television could carry political messages, new and social media should be allowed to participate and benefit.
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”.
Pointing out that the same NCC gave approval to the Goodluck-Sambo campaign in 2010, Governor Fashola wondered why “a President who says he cares about young people and wants their votes should be shutting down their generation’s platform” adding, “Is the President himself not using the same platform? Is this not a media censorship?”
The Fundraising Committee Director, however, expressed joy that in spite of these irritations, the enthusiasm of Nigerians for change was already visible from the first day of the launch of the payment platforms, adding that between the five banks alone, the committee has raised the sums of N822,928.80 from bank payments while N606,000 had been raised from the internet platform before the interference.
Urging Nigerians who wish to join the movement of change to continue to use the bank and One Card Scratch platforms, which according to him are still working, the Governor declared, “This is what we sought to achieve, a democratization of fund raising, transparency and commercial opportunities for businesses”.