Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has publicly addressed his absence from the recent Council of State meeting, attributing it to pre-scheduled official duties even as he dismissed media reports of a rift with President Bola Tinubu as ‘unnecessary propaganda and blackmail’.
The minister’s explanation came on Tuesday during the commissioning of Access Roads in Sector Centre B of the Daki Biyu District, Abuja, days after the high-profile meeting where the nomination of Prof. Joash Amupitan was approved as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Wike clarified that his non-attendance was a matter of protocol, not protest. “Sometime last week, Thursday, we had a flag-off. And I told the minister of State, FCT, to represent me at the Council of State meeting.
“I had already told Mr President that I would not be available because of other engagements we had already put in place,” he said.
The minister’s comment was a direct response to a report by the online news platform, Sahara Reporters, which claimed that Wike boycotted the meeting due to deepening rift with the President over the nomination of the next INEC chairman.
The report had alleged that Wike was unhappy that his preferred nominee for the INEC chairmanship, Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman, was not accepted by President Tinubu.
Addressing the claims head-on, Wike said, “They said I did not attend because I was not happy that my own nominee was not taken.
“I work for Mr. President. Mr. President’s judgement, as far as I’m concerned, in this country has always been how to put this country in the right perspective,” he said.
Wike urged his team to remain focused on delivering projects, asserting that tangible results are the most effective rebuttal to critics.
“Be focused. When you start delivering, the achievement will silence all critics. Today, they have nothing again to say,” he said.
Shifting from defence to praise, the minister credited the President’s leadership for the spate of project commissions in the FCT.
“I have always say that when you have the right leadership, you can achieve the expected results. Mr President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has shown the right leadership. And that is why we are able to achieve,” Wike stated.
