The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has weighed in on the Tuesday, November 12, debacle between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and a Navy Lieutenant, AM Yerima over a piece of land belonging to the former Chief of Navy Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo.
The minister and the young Naval officer had engaged in a verbal altercation after some military personnel, led by Yerima, prevented him and his team from the FCT Administration from accessing the land.
The ownership and use of the property located in the Gaduwa area of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city is being challenged by the FCT.
However, reacting to the incident, the spokesperson for the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi said it is unfortunate that after 48 hours, the Nigerian government has yet to make any official statement on the matter.
Abdullahi stated that the silence from the government is an indication that it is either reluctant to offend Wike, or it is in support of the Minister’s behaviour in the trending viral video.
“Ordinarily, the sorry spectacle should embarrass the government into calling this Minister to order. However, it appears that, to this government, politics is more important than anything else.
“Without prejudice to the facts on the land involved, one wonders why the Minister took the land matter so personally,” Abdullahi stated.
He also queried why enforcing actions on land matters within the FCT should involve the presence of a minister.
“Are there no systems in place to do this? How does a Minister, who understands the full scope of his mandate—to improve health care, education, and provide security for the entire FCT—find the bandwidth to be personally enforcing land-use matters, as if he were the head of a mere task force?
“Then, why would a Federal Minister think it is okay to abuse and harass a military officer on duty, just so he could have his way?
“This impunity, indeed, hints at a deeper leadership crisis, where the government appears to pander to its own appointee,” Abdullahi added.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
