By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FNM candidate for West Grand Bahama and Bimini Omar Isaacs is accusing state broadcaster ZNS of political interference after his live interview on Power 104.5FM was abruptly cut short on Wednesday.

Mr Isaacs had been invited to appear on the talk show Man to Man with hosts “PJ” and Wenito Bootle, following his official ratification as the party’s candidate. He said the appearance had been approved by station officials a week in advance.

But less than ten minutes into the programme, Mr Isaacs said the interview was interrupted.

“The door opened and the host, PJ, was called out of the studio and the show went to commercial,” he recalled. “They then had music playing, and we had a loop going on.”

Co-host Mr Bootle reportedly stepped out to find out what was happening. When the show resumed, Mr Isaacs said he was told the hosts had been instructed to avoid political discussions — even though, at that point, none had taken place.

Mr Isaacs agreed to shift the conversation to local social issues, including poor road conditions, the delayed opening of a middle school, and a shortage of pharmaceuticals at the West Grand Bahama clinic.

Moments later, he said, the interview was cut off again.

“The door opened again, and a man did the neck and hand signal and said cut it,” Mr Isaacs said. He believes the person was an engineer. “I think it was politically motivated. The host and co-host mentioned to me that they got a call from Nassau.”

The programme, normally an hour and a half long, was pulled after roughly 35 to 40 minutes. Mr Isaacs said the hosts were “visibly upset” and apologised after the show.

“It was a disgrace,” he said. “They felt bad and embarrassed because they followed all the proper protocols, and they pulled the plug on them just because of me.”

Mr Isaacs also questioned the fairness of the station, noting that ZNS had initially insisted he could only appear on the show after his ratification as a candidate.

“I don’t think a publicly owned radio station and platform should operate in such a manner,” he said.

Allison Smith, Assistant Director at ZNS 3 in Freeport, could not be reached up to press time.