The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticised activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, for describing President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
Sowore had, in an August 25 post on X, accused the President of lying after Tinubu declared during a visit to Brazil that corruption no longer existed in Nigeria.
“This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!,” Sowore wrote.
Following the tweet, the Department of State Services (DSS) filed criminal charges against Sowore, alleging defamation and violations of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes and Terrorism Prevention laws. The DSS also urged social media platforms X and Meta to delete the post, describing it as a threat to national security.
Speaking on Thursday during the flag-off of the construction of Arterial Road N1 in Wuye, Abuja, Wike said Sowore should count himself fortunate that Tinubu respects the rule of law.
“This is a country where somebody on social media will say Mr President is a criminal; nothing will happen. You say all kinds of things you want to say, but nothing will happen.
You are lucky you have a President who believes in the rule of law. Continue to be lucky. There are those you will meet that you won’t be lucky again,” he warned.
Wike argued that unlike in the U.S., where criticism of leaders rarely escalates to such extremes, Nigerians often resort to personal attacks.
On the ongoing strike by the FCT Chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors, Wike assured that the administration had allocated ₦25 billion in the 2025 budget to upgrade healthcare infrastructure. He, however, stressed that payments of allowances and employment of doctors must follow due process.
“The people who say they are being owed allowances, fine… go and check how much. If the Permanent Secretary of the Treasury brings the bill, what’s my own? They will pay. But everything has a procedure,” he said.
He urged patience and cautioned against politicising the FCT Civil Service, saying demonstrations would not derail the government’s projects.
“Demonstration is allowed everywhere. Nobody will blackmail me, nobody will stop me from doing what I think is right, and at the right time,” Wike insisted.
