Tinubu confirms he has business interests in TVC, and The Nation

A former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has finally confirmed long-held suspicions that he has business interests in The Nation newspaper and Television Continental (TVC).

For over a decade, the former governor and his supporters have played down and debunked reports that he owns the two media organisations with headquarters in Lagos. The media organisations are just two of the many businesses the politician is rumoured to own in Lagos.

Since ending his Lagos governorship in 2007, Tinubu has built a one-state political party into national relevance, through mentorship, takeovers, and mergers. He has in the process, become one of the most influential Nigerian politicians alive. But he has also built a fortune that many say he cannot explain since he has no known businesses.

But in a statement on Sunday evening, Tinubu admitted he indeed is “a promoter and financial investor in The Nation and TVC.’

This follows the violent attacks on both companies on Wednesday October 21, 2020, after unconfirmed reports went viral that he ordered soldiers to dispel EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate on Tuesday October 20, 2020. The attack left many injured while 15 also died according to DJ Switch who witnessed the shooting and streamed it live on her Instagram page to more than 150,000 people from different parts of the world.

Tinubu insists he gave no such order. 

Irked by the attack, irate mobs went on rampage in Lagos on Wednesday. The mob attacked the TVC office in Ikosi Ketu and set fire on the building and vehicles. Later in the day, an unidentified mob also set fire on The Nation newspaper office in Matori, Mushin.

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In a statement on his Twitter page on Sunday evening, Tinubu said: “I am, indeed, a promoter and financial investor in The Nation and TVC. It was widely known and circulated through social media that certain malevolent elements were going to take advantage of the situation to attack the Nation newspaper facilities and TVC.”

Tinubu was reported to have acquired The Comet newspaper in 2006, a year before the end of his second term as governor of Lagos. After the acquisition, the newspaper became known as The Nation newspaper. The pioneer Editor of the newspaper, Gbenga Omotosho, is the present Commissioner for Information in Lagos.

Before leaving office in 2007, Tinubu was said to have appropriated to himself the campus of Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) in Ikosi-Ketu where TVC is located. Supporters of the former governor have repeatedly debunked the reports accusing him of converting the property to his personal media estate. They have also distanced him from the ownership of the TV station. Everything changes now.