Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said he will not remain in his office while FCT Administration staff are being attacked.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Wike was responding to his recent altercation with a navy commander over a disputed piece of property purportedly connected to a former Chief of navy Staff.
The retiring navy chief’s “audacity” in sending active-duty officers to secure the contested property infuriated the Minister.
He emphasised that it was his responsibility as a public servant to step in when government workers were being attacked and that he could not stand by.
“How can I sit as a minister when government officials are being attacked and beaten up, officials at the level of directors? And I’ll just sit in my office doing what,” he asked.
reports that Wike, his entourage, and a few troops got into a heated argument on Tuesday over a piece of land in the Gaduwa district.
The Minister claimed that the retired navy officer was engaged in unapproved development on the disputed plot and challenged the naval officer about the purported attack by Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) employees who had gone to stop the work.
The deployment of military forces to obstruct the authorised enforcement operations of FCT officials was criticised by the previous governor of Rivers State as an unacceptable abuse of power.
