Popular Nigerian television host Frank Edoho has revealed why the long-running quiz programme Who Wants to Be a Millionaire eventually came to an end.
Edoho, who hosted the popular show for several years, disclosed this while speaking on the KK Show, explaining that the programme’s major sponsor was forced to withdraw its financial support after being fined heavily by the Federal Government.
According to him, the sponsor had supported the programme for about a decade before the government’s punitive action affected its ability to continue funding the show.
Edoho said the company subsequently informed the production team that it could no longer sustain the sponsorship because of the substantial financial obligation imposed on it.
“Who Wants to be a Millionaire sort of came to an end when our sponsor withdrew,” Edoho said.
He explained that the company had remained committed to the programme for roughly 10 years before the development.
“I don’t know if I can mention brand names but our sponsor stayed with us for a decade sponsoring the show, then I think the Federal Government fined them based on some industry – I think it was like a punitive measure for one corporate thing but that affected the sponsorship of Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” he said.
Edoho added that the sponsor eventually told the production team it could no longer continue supporting the programme because of the financial burden created by the government fine.
“So they said, ‘Hey guys, we can’t do this anymore based on the fact that we have to pay an incredible sum of money back to the Federal Government,’” he stated.
The quiz show became one of Nigeria’s most popular television programmes during its run, with Edoho serving as its familiar host and becoming closely associated with the programme.
