Arise Television on Friday abruptly ended an interview with Lere Olayinka, Media Aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, after he refused to respond to questions from TV anchor Rufai Oseni.
Olayinka, who was appearing on the station’s Morning Show, declined to answer Oseni after being asked to respond to a question.
“I don’t want to answer any question from you, Oseni Rufai. I want this conversation to be among reasonable human beings. People who won’t describe other people as ‘Gbewudani’,” he said.
Following the remark, another anchor, Mario Esse, reminded Olayinka that the programme has three anchors and explained that the interview could not continue if he refused to respond to Oseni.
The development comes a day after veteran broadcaster Reuben Abati cautioned Oseni over some of his comments made on air.
During Thursday’s edition of The Morning Show, Abati warned that Oseni’s remarks could expose both him and the station to potential legal action.
Abati’s warning followed comments made by Oseni concerning the 2027 political ambitions of All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sarafadeen Alli, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Sandy Onor.
Oseni had referred to Onor as a “placeholder” and used the Yoruba term “Gbewudani” in describing the situation.
Abati subsequently described the comments as potentially defamatory and urged Oseni to exercise greater caution when making pronouncements on air.
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