Channels Television has countered the claim made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on the allocation of land housing its headquarters in Abuja.
During a media chat on Wednesday, Wike had questioned the allocation of the plot to the television station in Guzape, alleging that the organisation was profiting from the government’s allocated public property.
“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.
“Am I not going to pay for a live interview? It is not free,” Wike had said.
In its response on Thursday, Channels Television called Wike’s comments inaccurate while pointing out that the land was legally allocated to the station for commercial purposes on March 6, 2007.
The media organisation added that all required fees and statutory charges connected to the land were fully paid.
“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,” Channels TV stated.
Speaking further, the broadcaster urged the FCT minister to provide full clarification on allegations relating to land allocated to journalists, insisting that any fees attached to such allocations should be duly paid.
“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,” it added.
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