Senior special assistant on public communications and new media to the FCT minister, Mr Lere Olayinka, has said the minister, Nyesom Wike, would not engage with “professional scammers and hustlers” pretending to be activists.
In a statement released in Abuja yesterday, Olayinka said many individuals attacking the minister across various social media platforms were doing so out of frustration for being ignored or due to the failure of their dubious schemes.
He stated, “Growing up in Okemesi Ekiti, my grandfather taught us not to wrestle with pigs, as it only muddies you and makes it hard to distinguish who truly is who. We refuse to dignify these individuals with any response.”
Olayinka questioned the actions of certain activists, citing instances where funds meant for elections were misappropriated amid allegations of conflicts over protest money dating back to 2019.
Recalling an encounter from 2016, he said a certain figure had approached him with an offer to fabricate press statements against public officials in exchange for payments.
“Today, that same person poses as an activist. We see no reason to engage with them,” he asserted.
He revealed common tactics of fraudulent activists, explaining that they often resort to threats, media outbursts or protests to coerce public officials.
Olayinka criticised these individuals for attempting to turn activism into a profit-driven enterprise.
He added that Wike’s refusal to engage with such tactics had left them frustrated.
On alleged land grabbing, Olayinka challenged critics to present evidence of any land that the FCT minister unlawfully seized.
He stated, “It is baffling that educated individuals perceive the removal of shanties which pose security risks as land grabbing. Innocent people have occupied unclaimed lands without authorisation, creating makeshift homes.”
He narrated an episode during Wike’s visit to a shanty in Wuye where residents acknowledged that they had no official permission to inhabit the area and that previous administrations had attempted to clear the site on 21 occasions.
“For instance, when the minister visited the shanty in Wuye, which shared a fence with a residential estate and is close to a rail line, the occupants were honest enough to admit that they had no authority from anyone to live there. They also admitted that previous governments had cleared the shanty 21 times and that the recent one was the 22nd.
“The occupants’ only request from the FCT ministry was for them to be relocated somewhere else, and a meeting was held with their representatives on Tuesday. So if this is what our hustler-activists are referring to as land grabbing, I pity those who still see them as educated,” he said.
