Channels Television has pushed back against claims by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, insisting that the land housing its headquarters in Abuja was lawfully allocated and fully paid for.
The TV station issued the rebuttal during its Thursday broadcast, describing the minister’s remarks as inaccurate.
It clarified that the property in the Guzape area of Abuja was allocated to Channels Television Limited for commercial purposes on March 6, 2007, by the then FCT administration.
Wike had, during a media chat on Wednesday, alleged that the television station was profiting from public land allocated to it by the government.
“The land that you built Channels on is public land. You are making money out of the public property. Did you buy it? No. It was allocated to you,” the minister said.
He also defended payments made to media organisations for airing the live broadcast, saying such coverage was not provided free of charge.
But Channels TV on Thursday responded that “It is not correct. The property which houses our national headquarters in the Guzape area of Abuja was allocated to CTV on March 6, 2007, for commercial purposes by the then FCT minister. We can confirm that all required fees and charges were fully paid.”
The award-winning TV station also defended the payments received for transmitting the minister’s media chat, explaining that live coverage required substantial technical and operational resources.
“Our fees are out there. We are a news and broadcast media organisation. So, if you are going to lock down one, two, or three hours of airtime, of course you will pay,” the station stated.
Channels Television added that the live broadcast involved the deployment of outside broadcasting vans, technical crew members and airtime resources, stressing that full disclosure had been made to viewers before the programme aired.
The station further reaffirmed its commitment to professional journalism and editorial independence.
“We will ensure to ask the right questions and guard the trust we have built for over 30 years as a media organisation built on credibility, excellent journalism and balance,” it said.
On allegations relating to land allocations to journalists, the broadcaster urged the FCT minister to provide full details of the allocations and ensure that all necessary fees attached to such properties were paid.
