Wike Warns Media Against Partisanship, Vows To Resolve DAAR Communication’s FCT Land Issues

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has called on media organisations to remain non-partisan and uphold factual reporting, warning that inaccurate coverage misleads citizens and undermines democratic institutions.

Wike made the remarks on Tuesday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the management team of DAAR Communications Plc, led by its Chairman, Raymond Dokpesi Jr.

The minister, who described the visit as the first media courtesy call paid to his administration, expressed gratitude for the organisation’s continued support.

He disclosed that he had already minuted directives for the urgent resolution of outstanding Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) issues affecting DAAR Communications’ assets, particularly in the Idu Industrial area of FCT

“I have already minuted it to him now, to make sure that, those issues that have already been resolved are finally settled. I don’t want it like a civil service manner. I want it to be handled very diligently, so that we can get that at our back and know that we are moving forward,” he said.

Wike cautioned journalists against becoming tools for partisan interests, urging them to verify facts before publication.

“Let me also say that we are in a political period and we believe that the media house, we should try as much as we can to be non-partisan, even though we’re all human beings. When it comes to our official duty, we’ll try to see how our citizens can get the best of reporting.

“Sometimes when you watch television and you see the kind of things people are saying, you begin to wonder where are they getting these facts from. You don’t even know when it was conceptualized, talk about implementation, but it’s there for the public and sometimes it’s very misleading,” he said.

The minister defended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against what he described as unfair criticism, using a recent case involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as an example.

“If you do not understand it, obviously, you will blame INEC. There’s no way you will not blame INEC. But if you go back and follow the scenario, you will know that there’s nothing you can hold INEC responsible for. Nothing. If you are not biased, you will know that INEC has no blame at all.

“We politicians should be able to put our house in order. The only thing when it happens like this, we blame the judiciary and we blame INEC. The next thing, again, is the government in power,” he said.

Wike expressed frustration with media outlets that continued to describe political parties as “factional” even after court rulings have settled disputes.

“A court of competent jurisdiction, even up to the Court of Appeal level, has given judgment. If we do not obey that Court of Appeal, then where are we heading to? Sometimes I feel so bad that somebody will simply talk about ‘factional’.

“Once people read these things, they begin to say what is happening. That is not what we ought to do. We should be able to give the citizens the advantage of getting the correct information as it is at that time. It will help us a lot,” he said.

The minister also addressed a recent controversy arising from his monthly media chat, where his figurative comment was allegedly misrepresented.

“You can imagine what happened in our media chat. People just capitalise on things even when I explained there that, look, it is not correct, I didn’t say I will kill him. All I was trying to explain is that it was figurative.

“How do you begin to go so low? You are an interviewer, how do you now begin to say something that you are no longer interviewing your guests?

“That was why I said if I can break this TV, how can you break a TV and kill? I mean, how can? And people will capitalize on everything,” he said.

Wike revealed his personal news consumption habits, saying he monitors major television stations to stay informed.

“I watch news all the time. Once it’s 8 o’clock, anywhere I am, on AIT, I watch. 10 o’clock on Channels, I watch. 7 o’clock on TVC, I watch it. So that let me see where the enemies are coming from. I don’t want people to tell me what they said. I want to hear it by myself.

“Even at 12, I go back to 12 midnight to watch everything. So I am not the kind of person that somebody will say ‘they told him.’ No. I will make sure I watch it before I go to sleep. So that I will know if AIT is the problem, I know how to handle them. If it is the general, I know how to handle them,” he said.

Despite his criticisms, Wike reaffirmed his administration’s readiness to partner with DAAR Communications on future projects.

“We sincerely would want to partner with you. You have all it takes and it will be the first of its kind in Nigeria if it materializes. So I want us to explore how best we can go about it while we have the opportunity to be in office now,” he said.