Channels Television has dismissed claims made by Nyesom Wike concerning the allocation of land housing the broadcaster’s headquarters in Abuja.
During a media chat on Wednesday, Wike questioned how the media organisation acquired the plot located in the Guzape area of Abuja, arguing that the station was profiting from government-allocated public property.
“The land that you built Channels on is public land,” the minister said.
“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.”
Responding during its Thursday broadcast, Channels Television described the minister’s remarks as inaccurate, insisting that the property was lawfully allocated to the station for commercial use on March 6, 2007.
“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,” the station said.
“We can confirm that all required fees and charges were fully paid.”
The broadcaster also defended payments received for airing the minister’s media chat, explaining that live transmission requires substantial technical and operational resources, including outside broadcasting vans, crew deployment, and airtime allocation.
“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 statement added.
Channels Television further stated that it would continue asking “the right questions” while upholding the credibility and public trust it has built over the past three decades.
The station also urged the FCT minister to provide clarification regarding allegations surrounding land allocations to journalists, maintaining that all statutory fees attached to such allocations should be properly settled.
