Toba Owojaiye reporting
Benin City, Edo State
In an unexpected twist ahead of the upcoming Edo governorship election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded an astonishing $1 million from Arise Television for its candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, to participate in a debate on the station. This demand was made public through a statement titled “APC New Media Campaign Council Responds to Rufai Oseni and Arise TV’s Misleading Narrative,” signed by a certain Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah, the Director of the APC New Media Directorate.
According to the statement seen by Truth Live News, the APC alleged that Arise TV and its anchor, Rufai Oseni, have displayed a lack of seriousness and fairness in their request for an interview with Senator Okpebholo.
The statement reads, “If Arise TV and Rufai Oseni are so eager to have Senator Okpebholo on their platform, perhaps they should consider compensating him with a sum of $1 million. Only then might he entertain the notion of subjecting himself to what we can only describe as an act of media bullying.”
The APC’s demand is rooted in what they perceive as a deliberate attempt by Arise TV to undermine Senator Okpebholo’s campaign. The party strongly condemned the station’s use of a misleading infographic that portrayed the candidate as “running” from an interview, a move they argue was intended to tarnish his reputation.
The statement continued, “Senator Okpebholo has no obligation to grant an interview to a platform that has already shown its hand in trying to ridicule him. Rufai Oseni’s claim that his invitation to our candidate is being ‘politicized’ is nothing but a diversion from the real issue—his lack of impartiality and professional ethics.”
In a scathing critique, the APC suggested that Oseni revisit the principles of journalism and accused him of using his platform to manipulate public perception for personal or political gain. “To the general public, we urge caution in consuming content from media outlets that prioritize sensationalism over substance,” the statement warned.
In his response, Rufai Oseni took a dig at APC by saying
“A political party telling me to give them 1m dollars before their candidate comes to speak on TV. Hahahahaha! Like the candidate comes or not that’s their problem oooo. They also lied that I created an info graphic of their candidate running from Arise TV, I challenge them to give me the fact that the info graphic emanated from my page, if they can’t,they are lying. It’s sad that candidates that want to lead others can’t come for interviews and the people still support them. These current actors have destroyed our democracy”.
Online reactions have been swift and unforgiving, with many Netizens Edo State residents, ridiculing the APC’s demand, accusing the party of trying to hide Senator Okpebholo’s incompetence. Critics have drawn parallels between this situation and past instances where APC leaders and presidential candidates avoided public debates, asserting that such tactics only deepens suspicions about the candidate’s capability.
As the election date approaches, this latest development has further intensified the political atmosphere in Edo State, with voters eagerly watching how the situation unfolds.