"Unruly and Arrogant": Wike Blasts Gallant Naval Officer Who Confronted Him in Abuja
- FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has come out to explain the root of the rift between his ministry and the military
- Wike maintained that the military acted in outright violation of the rule of law by stationing soldiers on the property
- Wike maintained the naval officer acted in unwarranted arrogance and was despicably unruly to him
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has given an extensive account of the misunderstanding between the ministry and the retired former chief of naval staff.
This comes after the former governor of Rivers state was confronted and refused access to a parcel of land in Abuja by men of the Nigerian armed forces. The matter took a wild turn when the minister hurled insulting statements at the officer, who, admirably defiant and unbothered, stood his ground.
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Speaking on Channels TV's Sunrise program on Wednesday, November 12, Lere Olayinka, Wike's spokesperson, explained that those claiming the minister did not follow the right channel are in the wrong, as Wike allegedly put a phone call through to the Chief of Defense Staff before leaving the office and called him again after he was met with force on the ground at the site.
Olayinka furthered that the said land originally belonged to a different entity that didn't make use of the land for years before dubiously transferring its ownership to the military officer.
Olayinka asserted that the former navy boss disregarded the normal procedure that everybody who plans to erect a building in Abuja is meant to follow.
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Wike's aide lambasts naval officer
Addressing the attitude of the officer stationed on the land, Olayinka described him as unruly and arrogantly behaved not only to the minister but also to the Chief of Defense Staff when he spoke to him on the phone.
Olayinka said Wike's temper and foul utterances are justifiable by the sheer untoward actions of the now popular officer.
"He said he was obeying an order," Olayinka said.
"Which order was he obeying. And that was what the minister was asking."
Olayinka posited that in a democratic environment, not all orders barked at military officers are meant to be carried out, especially when the order is outrightly unlawful.
He gave a fictional scenario of a high-ranking superior commanding an officer to rape his own daughter, asking if the officer would go through with such an abominable act just because it was an order.
Wike opens up after clash with soldiers
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nyesom Wike condemned the alleged illegal takeover of a disputed land in Abuja by military personnel allegedly acting on the orders of a former Chief of Naval Staff.
According to a statement on Tuesday, November 11, by Lere Olayinka, the FCT Minister's spokesperson, obtained by Legit.ng, he described the actions of the soldiers as unacceptable and lawless.
Wike, who visited the site after reportedly receiving reports that soldiers drove away Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) officials enforcing development control directives, stated that no individual, regardless of their former position, would be allowed to intimidate government authorities or obstruct the enforcement of the law.
Source: Legit.ng
