Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has called on Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to apologise to the military officer with whom he clashed in Abuja on Tuesday during a dispute over a piece of land.
A viral video earlier in the day showed Wike engaged in a heated exchange with a soldier who had stopped his convoy from accessing the contested site.
In a statement responding to the incident, Chidoka said Wike’s conduct was inappropriate and contrary to the ethos of democratic governance.
He argued that the minister’s direct involvement in enforcing directives on-site was "a fundamental misstep" and undermined institutional authority.
"Any law enforcement officer, in uniform or plain clothes, represents the president and the sovereignty of the Nigerian state.
"To abuse such an officer is to diminish the authority of the Republic itself," Chidoka said.
He stressed that governance must operate through institutions, not personal impulse.
"No matter how justified a grievance, a minister cannot become an enforcer; that violates the very idea of ordered government," he added.
Chidoka further advised that if Wike believed the soldiers’ deployment was improper, he should have reported the matter through the appropriate channels, particularly to the Minister of Defence, instead of confronting the officer in public.
"The minister should apologise to the officer for using abusive language. It is not acceptable behaviour," he said.
He also faulted the actions of Wike’s security detail, saying their role should have been to de-escalate the situation.
"The conduct of the DSS protective details was equally unprofessional. Their responsibility was to extract their principal from a rancorous and potentially dangerous situation, not to escalate it," he said.
Chidoka concluded by describing the episode as "a cautionary tale" that "demeans the dignity of the office of the minister and undermines the image of disciplined governance."
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