A Lagos-based Public Relations and Media practitioner, Olusegun Sunday Fayose has dissociated himself from a story which first appeared in the Nation Newspapers of Monday 23rd March, 2015, in which his picture was used to illustrate an interview purportedly granted the newspaper by one Olusegun Fayose, identified in the report as the elder brother of Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose.
Mr Fayose, lead consultant/MD of Hexagon Media and former head of corporate communication/PR manager of MultiChoice Nigeria, in a statement, clarified that he never granted any interview to The Nation or any other news medium within or outside the country, neither is he related to the Governor of Ekiti State. He noted that the similarity in his surname and that of the Governor is a mere coincidence.
He wondered how any responsible journalist could publish his picture as that of the elder brother of the Governor, especially with the benefit of several online search engines at the disposal of media practitioners. He also expressed surprise that two reporters — Bisi Oladele and Jeremiah Oke — who claimed that they conducted the interview in Ibadan, Oyo state with Governor Ayo Fayose’s elder brother, chose to use a picture sourced online to illustrate such a sensitive story at this critical period in the electoral process, instead of using the actual picture of the person they claimed they interviewed.
“As a media practitioner, I find this development rather shocking because the journalists were in a position to take live pictures of the interviewee at the venue of the interview. Should they have failed in doing this, they could have returned to correct the oversight or politely ask for a selfie which could be forwarded to them. There is also the option of using professional networking sites to access the details or picture(s) of their subject. So, I find it strange and curious that they (the reporters) could not remember the face of a subject they purportedly interviewed in less than 24 hours,” he said.
He therefore called on leading blogs to retract the story within 24 hours or risk legal actions.
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