The All Progressives Congress Campaign Council has demanded one million dollars from Arise News before the TV station would be allowed to interview its candidate for the Edo State governorship election, Monday Okpebholo.
The party’s New Media Campaign in a statement on Monday said Okpebholo is not running away from interviews but choosing who media houses to grant interviews.
The campaign council was responding to several calls for interviews from media houses, among which was Arise News and its anchor, Rufai Oseni, who expressed reservations as to why Okpebholo has refused to grant interviews.
On Sunday, the Peoples Democratic Party or PDP had accused the APC and its candidate of not having anything to offer the people of Edo hence the lack of media engagement.
Okpebholo has not granted any interview since he emerged the APC’s candidate for the September election.
This has left many media houses to wonder what the problem is even as there are reports that he has found it hard to sell his vision to the people due to hardship and bad governance by the party in the country.
The lack of campaign activity has also sent fears across the party hierarchy, who are at a loss as to what step to take to energise the campaign council.
The APC took exception to Arise New’s call for an interview questioning its professionalism and accused the station of bias.
The statement which was signed by Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah, the Director of New Media Directorate argued that Okpebholo “has no obligation to grant an interview to a platform that has already shown its hand in trying to ridicule him.”
The council frowned at the station’s claim that its “invitation to our candidate is being ‘politicised’,” describing it as “nothing but a diversion from the real issue,” which it said borders on “lack of impartiality and professional ethics.”
The council emphasised that the circumstances in which other candidates appeared on Arise News were different from Okpebholo’s situation.
It said the refusal to appear in the station was due to “confrontational tone”, noting that “it is therefore not surprising that Senator Okpebholo would choose to avoid an interview that seems to have been set up as a trap rather than an opportunity for genuine discourse.”
The party said If Arise TV is “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 integrity and principles of our candidate are not for sale, but such an offer might at least demonstrate a seriousness on their part that has thus far been sorely lacking.”