Arise TV: ‘It Was A Disgraceful Performance’ – Amadi, Osuntokun Slams Wike’s Aide

The Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Sam Amadi, and Arise News Political Director, Akin Osuntokun, have criticised the spokesman for the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lere Olayinka, over his conduct during a television interview that was abruptly terminated on Friday.

The duo argued that Olayinka, as a public official, should have focused on communicating his principal’s position rather than letting his disagreement with Arise News anchor Rufai Oseni dominate the programme.

Naija News reports that the controversy erupted during Friday’s edition of The Morning Show when Oseni asked Olayinka to explain FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike’s position on the disagreement surrounding membership of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 campaign council.

Olayinka declined to take the question from Oseni and said he preferred to engage with “reasonable human beings.”

His comment drew an immediate objection from another anchor, Ayo Mairo, who defended Oseni’s right to participate in the interview and pointed out that Olayinka should have expected to meet him on the programme.

The exchange subsequently escalated before the station brought the interview to an end.

Reacting to the incident on Arise News, Amadi said Olayinka lost an important opportunity to explain and defend the position of the FCT minister before a wider audience.

According to him, public officials and their representatives should recognise that television appearances are not merely conversations with presenters but opportunities to influence public understanding.

“You are speaking to a much larger audience, so missing the opportunity to communicate your message and instead using the platform to throw tantrums only exposes the weakness of the person speaking for the government,” Amadi said.

He argued that Olayinka appeared to have approached the interview prepared for a confrontation rather than a discussion about public issues.

“Lere would have come with a sense of ‘I’m going to give it to him’, and that’s shameful because he lost the opportunity as a public official to defend his principle,” he said.

Amadi added that anyone representing government in the media should focus on persuading the audience and explaining policies or political positions.

“The notion is that you have to understand clearly that the reason why you appear before the media is to sell, to communicate, to win and to shape minds, not just the host,” he added.

Amadi, however, said responsibility for maintaining professional standards did not rest solely with public officials.

He urged journalists to remain firm in interrogating claims while respecting the dignity of their guests and avoiding becoming central participants in political disputes.

According to him, an interviewer’s role should be to scrutinise statements and allow viewers to determine whether the arguments being advanced are credible.

“You don’t have to be the guy in the ring fighting. You have to be the guy who enables the public to understand and perhaps see the weakness or the falsity of the claim pushed.

“Yours is to tactically expose to the viewing public that this is correct or this is not correct. So caution on both sides. I think it was a disgraceful performance and could have been avoided,” he added.

Osuntokun Faults Wike Aide

Osuntokun similarly criticised Olayinka’s handling of the encounter, saying the spokesman was under no obligation to answer questions he did not wish to address but should have managed his response differently.

He warned that the manner in which the FCT minister’s aide conducted himself could establish an undesirable precedent for public engagement.

“Lere Olayinka was under no compulsion to speak or answer. Whether he was invited or invited himself, he was still at liberty to say what he wanted to say,” Osuntokun said.

He added, however, that Olayinka’s choice of words weakened rather than strengthened the position he was attempting to represent.

“However, the manner in which he spoke was unfortunate and did little to strengthen his position. And it’s not good for his principal,” he said.