On-air personality (OAP) and former host of The Honest Bunch podcast, Chinedu Ani Emmanuel, popularly known as Nedu, has debunked claims that he was fired from the show.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, Nedu clarified that his departure was a personal decision, not a forced removal, amid escalating controversy and personal attacks.

Addressing speculation surrounding his exit, Nedu stated, “Any conversation that surrounds ‘oh, as the guest is talking, you have to stop the guest so that the guest does not say some things,’ for me, is not professional, and I don’t do that. If you are a radio host or a TV host, you will understand that.”

He further emphasised the independence of guests to air their opinions on the show, “You cannot use my relationship with you wherever you are to force me to shut down what any guest is saying on the show. That is also not professional. Everyone has a right to air out their opinion when they come on the show. That is why, at the beginning of the show, you will see that ‘every opinion shared is the opinion of the guest and not of the show itself’.”

Nedu also highlighted that individuals mentioned on the show always have the right to respond, “Everyone has a right of rebuttal. If someone says something about you, you have a right of rebuttal. You can either come on the show and say, ‘Okay, I want to rebut what this person said,’ or find a way to do it—maybe on another platform or social media.”

Amid the swirling controversy, Nedu reiterated his stance on public disputes, “A lot of things have been going on left, right, and center, but I’m going to say this—I am not one to indulge in petty exchanges or words. That’s not who I am. It has never been my style, and it will never be my style to drag words with people on social media. I’m not going to do that.”

Finally, he set the record straight on his departure from The Honest Bunch, saying, “Let me now straighten up something, I was not fired from The Honest Bunch podcast. I was never fired. I decided to step away when the attacks became very personal so that the show could go on.”

LEADERSHIP reports that the controversy began when reality TV star and comedian Aderombi Adedayo Martin, better known as Deeone, alleged on the podcast that controversial social media critic Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, was a gay.

In response, VeryDarkMan accused Nedu of prompting Deeone to attack his reputation. He also accused the OAP of requesting sex from women in exchange for movie roles and threatened to release names of celebrities allegedly involved. The claims triggered further accusations that Nedu manipulated the guests on the show into making controversial statements in order to drive online traffic for the show.