The spokesman to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, has challenged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to disclose how much is being spent on his monthly live television media chats.
Ibe made the demand after Wike’s latest live broadcast was aired simultaneously on several television stations, including Arise TV, Channels Television, TVC, News Central, AIT, JDK, Aso TV & Radio and ADBN.
According to him, Nigerians deserve to know the total amount being spent on the broadcasts and whether public funds are being used to finance them.
He claimed that if each station charges between ₦10 million and ₦20 million per hour, an eight-station broadcast lasting two hours could cost between ₦160 million and ₦320 million for a single session.
Ibe argued that if such broadcasts are held every month, the total annual cost could run into billions of naira.
He said there was nothing wrong with a public official explaining government policies and projects but insisted that taxpayers’ money should not be used for political fights.
According to him, FCT residents deserve to know how much of the broadcast time is devoted to Abuja’s development and how much is spent attacking political opponents, including Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the National Democratic Coalition (NDC).
“Atiku and Amaechi are not infrastructure projects. ADC and NDC are not departments of the FCT Administration,” Ibe said.
He challenged Wike to publish the invoices for the broadcasts, identify the television stations paid, disclose the amounts involved, explain the source of the funds and state the budget lines used for the payments.
Ibe maintained that transparency and accountability are essential whenever public money is spent on government communication.
Wike, who was appointed FCT Minister by President Bola Tinubu, has regularly used live media chats to highlight projects in Abuja and respond to criticism from opposition politicians.
The latest demand from Atiku’s camp adds a fresh twist to the ongoing political rivalry between Wike and several opposition figures, while also raising questions about government spending on public communication.