The office of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has sought to defuse the backlash trailing his remark that he would have “shot” Channels Television anchor Seun Okinbaloye.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said the minister’s comment was never intended as a threat but was an expression of frustration taken out of context. He added that both men had since spoken by phone and clarified the situation.
Olayinka explained that the remark, made during a media parley in Abuja on Friday, was directed at Okinbaloye’s comments on air rather than at him personally.
According to him, Wike was displeased that a journalist he holds in high regard appeared to take a position on a political issue instead of maintaining neutrality as an interviewer.
He described the comment as exaggerated rhetoric used to emphasise a point, insisting it carried no intent of harm. He further noted that the minister had clarified his position during the live programme.
READ ALSO: Amnesty, Civil Society Demand Apology, Retraction From Wike Over Threat Against Channels TV’s Okinbaloye
“The Minister never meant that he will shoot Seun Okinbaloye. They even spoke on phone today, and he (Okinbaloye) understood what the minister meant,” Olayinka said.
“What the minister meant, which he made clear during the media chat was that he was angry seeing Okinbaloye, whom he hold in high esteem as a journalist, descending into the political arena by speaking as an interested party, instead of an interviewer.
“The statement made by the Minister was in hyperbolic context, which was clearly without intent. It was primarily using exaggeration to make a point.
“Even after the Minister made the clarifications on the live television program, which had Chamberlain Uzor, Head of Channels Television’s Abuja Office as part of the interviewers, all the journalists who were interviewing him just laughed.
“Therefore, after the Minister detailed explanations of what he meant, including saying on the live television program that he didn’t mean that he will carry 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 discontenance the use of the comment as instrument of blackmail and propaganda by those whose intent is to misrepresent facts for their political gains,” he said.
The controversy followed Wike’s statement at the media parley, where he reacted to remarks made by Okinbaloye on a previous edition of Politics Today.
The anchor had raised concerns about Nigeria drifting towards a one-party state while discussing the leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) after its derecognition by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Wike’s original remarks drew widespread condemnation from civil society organisations, including Amnesty International, which called for an immediate apology and retraction from the minister.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also criticised the comments, describing them as reckless and dangerous.
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