Wike Denies Calling Naval Officer a ‘Fool’, Says Comments Were Misrepresented
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has denied reports claiming he verbally insulted a naval officer, Lieutenant A.M. Yerima, during a confrontation over a disputed plot of land in Abuja. Addressing journalists in the nation’s capital on Thursday, Wike dismissed the allegation as false and accused commentators of spreading inaccurate accounts of the incident. “So those who are writing and talking junks should go and find out what really happened,” the minister said. “Some people said I told the boy, ‘you’re a fool’. What I meant is this: you cannot be carrying out an illegal order. That’s what I meant. I didn’t tell him, ‘you’re a fool’. I wouldn’t have said that.” The minister’s clarification comes amid ongoing public debate following his face-off with the naval officer at the disputed Gaduwa District land, where armed personnel were reportedly deployed.