The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has defended his Tuesday’s standoff against Naval Lieutenant A.M Yerima over a disputed parcel of land located in Gaduwa District in Abuja.
The confrontation stemmed from a disagreement over the legality of a piece of land in Gaduwa District in Abuja guarded by armed naval officers led by Yerima, who was reported to be acting on the orders of a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo (retd.).
During his press briefing with journalists on Thursday ahead of the FCT Executive Council meeting, Wike questioned the authority of the retired naval chief in deploying active-duty officers to guard the disputed property.
Defending his presence at the site amid public scrutiny, the minister emphasised that he could not remain idle while government officials were under attack, stressing his duty as a public officer to intervene in such situations.
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“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.
“Many influential Nigerians have had similar land issues. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former head of state and president, will simply call me. He’ll say, ‘Minister, I have a problem on this land, can you help?’ and I’ll solve it.
“That is a former head of state, a former elected president, who has the courtesy to call the minister, ‘we have this problem, see how you can look into it?’ General T.Y. Danjuma will call you. They never sent soldiers to attack anybody. They just call,” Wike said.
