Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, and former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Saturday, recalled the role played by late media mogul, Raymond Dokpesi, in halting alleged attempts by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to extend his tenure in office.

The duo made the revelation in Abuja at the 2nd Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi Diamond Lecture, organised by DAAR Communications and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), with the theme “Communication and Development”.

Momoh said Dokpesi combined foresight, personal engagement, and media influence to protect Nigeria’s democracy.

The minister, who detailed Dokpesi’s role in the third-term saga, noted that the founder of Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower FM Radio has not received the recognition he deserves for his pivotal contributions during that period.

The third-term agenda, which emerged during Obasanjo’s second term, sought to amend the constitution to allow a sitting president to contest for a third term.
The proposal generated widespread concern over potential abuse of power and a threat to Nigeria’s democratic trajectory.

Momoh explained that Dokpesi personally called lawmakers, explained why the agenda was dangerous, and worked quietly to ensure it did not succeed.

He said: “During the fifth assembly, when there was an attempt for third term, many people were taking the credits. But Dokpesi is another man who should be credited for what happened because I was a member of the National Assembly, and on one of the occasions, he called me and said, ‘You are my brother, this issue of third term, make sure you work with your people to ensure that it does not succeed’.

“So, after the whole exercise, people were targeted, and people were taking the credit, and I said, I wish they knew the brain behind ensuring that this agenda didn’t work.
“He was that very simple man. This is because, apart from using the independent television station, he was calling people one by one, letting them know it was not a good thing and that it must not be supported.”

On his part, Oshiomhole, representing Edo North in the Senate, recalled that the late media mogul used his media platforms and made his station available to lawmakers without charging a fee.
He said Dopkesi provided a platform for non-state actors to present their perspectives, and for legislators to respond, debate, and be held accountable by their constituents.
The ex-governor said: “In Dopkesi, I saw a man who used his station, first to promote internal conversation between and within Nigerians, but never dedicated the station to running down his country.

“These days, I watch television and I see a Nigerian media station saying Nigeria has happened to you because something negative happened to someone. If anything, there are fairly many Nigerians portraying us as the worst, as if nothing good happened in this country.
“Even as we speak, go to Cameroon where a 93-year-old man just won another election.

“Do we know that Nigeria’s ability to terminate the ambition of a president from altering our constitution was a great accomplishment, and AIT played a major role in transmitting that conversation in the national assembly live without demanding money. So when senators and reps stand up to speak, they know their constituents are watching and will hold them accountable.
“So if we talk about using the media to promote national interest, Dokpesi was there. My only complaint to him, which I was able to do before he transitioned, is that he made the station available for a political party that didn’t reciprocate in the manner they should have.

Governor of Nasarawa, Abdullahi Sule, who commended Dopkesi for his contribution to Nigeria’s democracy, lamented the growing sycophancy in the political arena.
“I have seen people who are in front of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, but at his back, they are saying he is the worst thing to happen to Nigeria,” he said.

President of NIPR, Dr. Ike Neliaku, hailed the late Dokpesi as a visionary who transformed communication in Nigeria.
He described Dokpesi as a pathfinder who broke barriers in media, democratised information, and gave voice to the voiceless.

“At the heart of Dr. Dokpesi’s vision was a philosophy that aligns deeply with the soul of our profession, public relations as service to society. He understood that communication is not just about media; it is about meaning. It is about connecting people to truth, leaders to citizens, and nations to the world,” he said.