- ‘No Threat Intended’ – Wike Defends Comment to TV Host
- Aide said remark expressed frustration over perceived political questioning
- Minister and anchor reportedly spoke, misunderstanding resolved amicably
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said that his controversial comment during a media chat on Channels Television was figurative and not intended as a threat.
The clarification was issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, who said the remark had been widely misunderstood.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Olayinka stated that the minister’s comment during the interview with Channels Television anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, was an expression of frustration rather than a literal statement.
“The Minister never meant that he will shoot Seun Okinbaloye. They even spoke on phone today, and he (Okinbaloye) understood what the minister meant,” the statement said.
He explained that Wike’s reaction stemmed from disappointment, noting that the minister held the journalist in high regard but felt the discussion took a political direction.
“What the minister meant, which he made clear during the medi chat, was that he was angry seeing Okinbaloye, whom he holds in high esteem as a journalist, descending into the political arena by speaking as an interested party instead of an interviewer,” Olayinkaa said.
The aide added that the statement was made in a hyperbolic context and should not be interpreted literally.
“The statement made by the Minister was in hyperbolic context, which was clearly without intent. It was primarily using exaggeration to make a point,” he explained.
Olayinka also noted that the minister offered clarification during the live broadcast, adding that members of the interview panel, including Chamberlain Uzor, Head of Channels Television’s Abuja Office, understood the context.
“Even after the Minister made the clarifications on the live television program, which had Chamberlain Uzor as part of the interviewers, all the journalists who were interviewing him just laughed.
“After the Minister’s detailed explanations of what he meant, including saying on the live television program that he didn’t mean that he will carry a gun and shoot the television anchor, it will become a clear hatchet job for any individual or group to pick the statement out of context and make any issue out of it.
“The public is therefore urged to discountenance the use of the comment as an instrument of blackmail and propaganda by those whose intent is to misrepresent facts for their political gains,” the statement added.
