Atiku’s aide challenges Wike to disclose funding for media broadcasts

Media adviser to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, has challenged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to disclose the price and funding sources of dwell broadcasts of his media engagements.

Ibe made the decision in a submit on X on Tuesday, following a media parley that includes Wike that was broadcast by a number of tv and radio stations.

He questioned the price of airing the programme, estimating that at between N10 million and N20 million per station per hour, eight stations broadcasting for two hours might price between N160 million and N320 million per session.

According to his calculation, holding 12 classes month-to-month might convey the estimated expenditure to between N1.92 billion and N3.84 billion.

However, the figures have been estimates supplied by Ibe and haven’t been independently verified.

He argued that Wike’s media engagements ought to focus extra on infrastructure improvement and public providers within the FCT moderately than political disagreements with different political figures and teams.

“FCT residents deserve to know how much is being spent on these broadcasts and how much airtime is devoted to FCT development, rather than Wike’s political disagreements with Atiku, Amaechi, Obi, ADC and NDC,” he said.

Ibe additionally referred to as on the minister to publish the invoices and supply particulars of the stations concerned, the quantities paid, the sources of funding and the related budgetary provisions.

“Minister Wike, publish the invoices. Identify the stations paid, the amounts, the funding sources and the relevant budget lines,” he wrote.

“Minister Wike, publish the invoices. Identify the stations paid, the amounts, the funding sources and the relevant budget lines,” he wrote.

He maintained that residents had a proper to know whether or not public funds have been used to finance the broadcasts and, in that case, the budgetary provisions underneath which the expenditure was permitted.

“The FCT treasury is not Wike’s personal political broadcasting account. Public office is not a licence to convert public funds into private political publicity,” Ibe added.

The name adopted Wike’s media parley in Abuja, throughout which the minister mentioned initiatives undertaken by his administration and expressed political assist for President Bola Tinubu forward of the 2027 common election.