Former presidential media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati may not be returning to Arise Television anytime soon as one of the anchors of daily breakfast programme ‘The Morning Show’.
In the recent episode of the programme, Abati has been replaced by Professor Anthony Kila, a globally renowned Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development, raising speculations as to whether he has left the media organisation or has been drafted to a background role.
When contacted by TheScrutinyNG, a staff of Arise TV said Abati is on annual leave and will be returning soon.
“He has been on annual leave since February 11. I am not certain when he will return ”
However, another staff said Abati may not be returning to the programme “anytime soon”.
Many Nigerians have called for the removal of Abati from the show over his ‘bossy attitude’ and remarks to junior presenters on the show.
In 2022, Abati addressed a reporter of Arise TV, Mary Chindah as a ‘mannerless young people’ for addressing him by his first name on air.
Criticising Abati, Deji Bademosi, an award- winning journalist wrote said that journalists calling colleagues mannerless or any derogatory names on air is forbidden and violates the ethics, convention, tradition of broadcasting.
“So Reuben Abati was angry that a reporter called him by his first name on TV. What a shame! I think people like OGA Reuben with little or no background in broadcasting before now need to be schooled on the ethics and practice in broadcasting before they are put on TV as presenters. To refer to a reporter as mannerless because she called you by your first name on TV, when you were the presenter or studio anchor asking her questions, is so tactless and unprofessional. It simply shows Oga Reuben’s total ignorance of the ethics, convention, tradition etc of broadcasting”.
“If you want to be addressed as Oga, Chief or perhaps Dr, then pls stop presenting the show. I suppose he would also want the younger presenters on the show too to address him as Oga Reuben”.
In November 2024, Abati also had a spat with another anchor, Ojy Okpe over his remarks on Igbos allegedly not selling lands to strangers.
Commenting on what transpired, Azuka Onwuka, a public affairs analyst wrote “ Last week, when I saw the myriads of social media posts criticising newspaper columnist and TV presenter, Dr. Reuben Abati, over his comment on Arise TV on the issue of the Igbo not selling land to non-Igbo, I searched for the video and watched it in full to hear his exact words and understand the context. He was reacting to the praise Senate President Godswill Akpabio gave to the Igbo at the Night of Tributes for the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah”.
“Because of the furore that followed Abati’s comment, it became part of Arise TV’s “Trending with Ojy Okpe” the next day. The anchor, Ms. Ojy Okpe, asked him for his comment on that, but Abati lost his cool and used the word “nonsense” twice on air, browbeat the anchor, and insisted that he made the comment in a certain context and would not repeat himself”.
“Happily, Okpe handled the situation with maturity, even while making it clear to Abati that the reaction of the public was that an ethnic group should not be tarred with the same brush based on a single story”.
