Buhari denies AIT ban

President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has said he did not ask anyone to stop Africa Independent Television (AIT) from covering his activities.

Director of Publicity for the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Garba Shehu, through a statement released in Abuja on behalf of Buhari on Wednesday, said, 'The time for change has come and we must avoid making the same mistakes that the outgoing government made.'

The statement also the President-elect has directed that all his staff should 'steer clear of all dealings with the media, and leave all media affairs to his official media team'.

'I would like everyone to henceforth stay within his/her defined area of responsibility,' Buhari said.

On Monday, during an event in which Buhari met some foreign dignitaries, the AIT crew was prevented from entering the venue.

Shehu had said: 'AIT has been asked to step aside based on security and family concerns. In addition, Buhari has decided that they will have to resolve some issues relating to issues of standard and ethics.'

An uproar followed the step, which the President-elect's party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), overruled on Tuesday.

Buhari claimed that he was not consulted before the decision to bar AIT was taken and was unaware of it until later when it became an issue of public discourse.