The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Khana Local Government Area and former Chief of Staff of the Khana Local Government Council, Hon. Lenebari Saro Inaania, has faulted the management of Super 93.3 FM over the disclaimer it issued against one of its correspondents, Barry Diginee, following a social media post on the collapse of a HYPREP water project in Gwara community.
Hon. Inaania in his reactions on Weds 5 November 2025, accused the management of Super 93.3 FM of compromising professional ethics and betraying the trust of the Ogoni people. He alleged that the radio station had been “bought over by HYPREP,” the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, in order to suppress public criticism of its activities in Ogoniland.
He said it was unfortunate that a station that once hosted a call-in programme to evaluate HYPREP’s operations suddenly suspended it immediately after HYPREP commenced a retainership with the station that reportedly runs into millions of naira.
The PDP chairman said he found it shocking that Super 93.3 FM would describe its own correspondent as a “stringer” simply because he made a post on his personal Facebook account about the collapse of the Gwara water project, which was commissioned a few days earlier by the Minister of Environment.
He questioned the motive behind the disclaimer and wondered why the station chose to distance itself from a journalist who had shown dedication to his work. According to him, the station’s action amounted to a betrayal of professional ethics and a calculated attempt to shield HYPREP from public scrutiny.
Hon. Inaania said a “stringer” is a freelance journalist who provides reports to a media house without being part of its regular staff, adding that such a label was unfair and misleading when used against a known correspondent of the station.
He asked whether it was a crime for a journalist to make a personal post on social media and whether Super 93.3 FM would have broadcast the report if it had been officially submitted to the newsroom.
He also raised a series of questions for the station’s management. He asked what Barry Diginee’s offence was for posting on his Facebook account, whether the post mentioned Super 93.3 FM by name, and if HYPREP, in its press statement, ever indicted the reporter or the station for the collapse of the project.
The PDP chairman queried what interest the station had in publishing the disclaimer if, as he claimed, HYPREP had not influenced its editorial decisions.
He said the action had exposed the life of the reporter to danger and warned that if anything happened to him, the station would be held accountable.
Hon. Inaania described the development as a clear case of intimidation and professional compromise, stressing that the management of the station owed both the reporter and the public an apology. He said the decision to deny protection to a committed staff member simply because money was involved was a major setback for press freedom in Ogoniland.
He cautioned that the Ogoni people were watching closely and would not forget those who traded truth and integrity for financial gain. He also urged journalists and media owners in the region to resist the temptation of being used to cover up issues affecting the people, especially those relating to environmental justice and public accountability. Hon. Inaania maintained that Super 93.3 FM had sold its voice to HYPREP and failed in its moral duty to protect its reporters and inform the public objectively. He insisted that the people of Ogoni deserve the truth and not silence bought with money.
