Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, has publicly criticized Channels Television journalist Seun Okinbaloye for describing Lagos State as "rich" during a recent gubernatorial debate. The dispute arose after Okinbaloye used the term to frame his opening remarks during a debate featuring candidates for the Lagos governorship, prompting Ajayi to challenge the accuracy of the characterization based on the state’s financial data.
Financial Context and Comparisons
In a Facebook post published on Sunday, Ajayi argued that the description reflected a "poor understanding" of the state’s finances and contributed to Nigeria’s broader development challenges. He cited Lagos State’s 2026 budget of 4 trillion naira, which he noted is equivalent to less than $3 billion. To illustrate his point, Ajayi compared this figure to the 2026 budget of the New York City Police Department, which he stated exceeds $6 billion—more than twice the entire annual budget of Lagos State.
"A state that is running a current 2026 budget of N4 trillion which in dollar term is less than $3 billion... We are talking about a city police department annual budget not that of New York State," Ajayi wrote. "A city police department is running twice the budget of Lagos State with more than 20 million people."
Ajayi emphasized that the comparison was not against the entire state of New York, but specifically against a single municipal agency within it. He expressed frustration that a journalist, who he believed should be well-informed, would make such a declaration on a live broadcast. "It is more distressing when those you expect to know better exhibit poor knowledge," he stated.
Call for Media Responsibility
The presidential aide called for a shift away from what he described as a "simplistic and populist view of wealth," arguing that such framing hinders national progress. He urged media professionals to exercise greater caution, stating that journalists "who have the power of the mic should stop misinforming the people." Ajayi concluded that Nigeria must address these misconceptions to develop and "move ahead as members of human society."
The incident occurred during a debate organized by the Nigeria Debate Consortium, a group comprising The PUNCH, Channels Television, TVC News, TheCable, and Vanguard. The event featured key candidates for the upcoming 2027 Lagos governorship election, including Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Obafemi Hamzat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and Deji Doherty of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>