Wike speaks to Okinbaloye, urge public to ignore misinterpretations of comment...

Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, has clarified remarks made by Nyesom Wike concerning Seun Okinbaloye, stating that the comment was not meant literally.

CBI News reports that in a statement issued on Saturday, Olayinka explained that the minister’s remark during a media chat on Channels Television was figurative and expressed in a hyperbolic context.

“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.

He added that Wike’s comment was driven by frustration, as he believed the journalist had shifted from being an interviewer to taking a political stance during the programme.

“What the minister meant… was that he was angry seeing Okinbaloye, whom he holds in high esteem as a journalist, descending into the political arena by speaking as an interested party, instead of an interviewer,” he stated.

Olayinka further stressed that the remark was an exaggeration used to make a point, not a literal threat.

“The statement made by the Minister was in hyperbolic context, which was clearly without intent. It was primarily using exaggeration to make a point,” he explained.

He also noted that Wike had clarified his position during the live broadcast, including stating that he did not intend any real harm, adding that those present during the interview understood the context.

According to him, “after the Minister’s detailed explanations… 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 aide urged the public to disregard attempts to use the comment for political propaganda, insisting that the remark had been misinterpreted.