By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – A media aide to Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has clarified controversial remarks made by the minister during a recent media chat, insisting they were not intended as a threat.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, said Wike’s comment directed at Seun Okinbaloye of Channels Television was made in a figurative context and should not be taken literally.
According to Olayinka, the minister did not mean he would harm the television anchor, explaining that the remark was an expression of frustration. He said Wike was displeased with what he perceived as Okinbaloye’s shift from professional journalism into political commentary during the interview.
“The statement was made in a hyperbolic context, using exaggeration to drive home a point,” Olayinka said, adding that the minister holds the journalist in high regard despite the disagreement.
He further disclosed that both men had since spoken by phone, with Okinbaloye reportedly understanding the minister’s intent.
Olayinka also noted that during the live broadcast, which featured other journalists including Chamberlain Uzor, the remark was clarified immediately and elicited laughter from those present.
The aide cautioned against taking the comment out of context, describing attempts to portray it otherwise as “a hatchet job” aimed at misrepresentation for political gain.
He urged the public to disregard what he called efforts to use the remark as a tool for blackmail or propaganda.
