For her commentary on Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Tinubu as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2023, Astha Rajvanshi, Time’s staff writer has locked her Twitter account because of heavy criticisms from Nigerians.
Tinubu was listed among Time’s 100 most influential people of 2023 on Thursday.
He made the “leaders” category alongside Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine; Joe Biden, President of the United States; Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, among others.
Rajvanshi, in her citation of the President-elect, described him as a “longtime political power broker” who contested for the highest office with the now popular slogan: “It’s my turn”.
She remarked that “Winning an election in Africa’s most populous country is no easy feat”, noting that the outcome of the ballot is being challenged in court because it was marred by allegations of intimidation and vote rigging.
However, many Nigerians, especially the supporters of Peter Obi who contested the election under the platform of the Labour Party, known as ‘Obidients’ expressed their dismay with the publication by attacking Rajvanshi on social media.
The reporter was accused of being contracted and paid by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to feature Tinubu in the annual publication.
Following the deluge of angry backlash from Nigerians over her feature story, Rajvanshi locked her Twitter account, making her tweets and complete profile available only to her followers. But the trolling continued on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Election Tribunal is yet to hold its first sitting to commence hearing on the 2023 presidential election even as the date for Tinubu’s inauguration, May 29, draws nearer.
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