The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory , Nyesom Wike, has issued a strong rebuke to former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, declaring that Odili cannot kill him following ongoing tensions related to the Rivers peace deal.
Wike made the remark during a New Year luncheon at his country home in Obio-Akpor on Friday, where he dismissed calls from some Rivers elders for him to apologize to Odili over recent comments.
The former governor accused Odili of disobeying President Bola Tinubu’s directive concerning the peace process amid a rift with Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
In his remarks, Wike expressed his resolve not to be bullied, asserting that he had done nothing wrong.
He rejected the notion that his comments had been offensive, particularly in relation to the management of state resources in Rivers.
Wike questioned Odili’s decision to ignore President Tinubu’s peace efforts, accusing him of turning Rivers State into his personal estate instead.
Wike also challenged the claims made by Odili, pointing out the contradictions in his statements. He reiterated that he had not insulted anyone but had merely pointed out the inconsistencies in Odili’s behavior. According to Wike, if Odili had denied the statements attributed to him, he would have considered an apology. However, since Odili had not denied them, Wike stood by his position.
The FCT Minister’s fiery remarks highlighted his growing frustration with the situation, as he vowed not to be intimidated by any attempts to force him into apologizing for what he believed were legitimate criticisms.
Wike said: “They said I should apologize; for what? That there is no law that says their daughter should not, but I said as an elder statesman, should you have given what belongs to your nephew to your daughter?
“Did I say that there is a law that says your daughter should not be something? But you said somebody is converting Rivers State to his personal estate. It’s not correct. The man who is converting Rivers State to a personal estate is you, and to crown it up, you are now the general overseer.
“I didn’t say anything wrong, so you cannot kill me for what I didn’t say. Tinubu is not like you. If you are a good person, Tinubu called Rivers people. As an elder statesman, he wanted you to make peace, but you came home. Ordinarily, what you should have done was to call Mr. President back and tell him how you have tried to implement some of them. Is there any way we can do the rest? Rather, you disobeyed.
“They said elders said I should apologize. Apologize for what?
“I said that I heard and I read that somebody who should be our elder statesman said this thing today and said a different thing tomorrow, and I said no. No elder statesman should say that. And the elder statesman didn’t say, ‘I didn’t say so.’ If he had said he didn’t say that, I would have apologized. But he didn’t deny the statement.
“I didn’t abuse anybody. I said our elder statesman was the one telling people the kind of mansion and castle I built for him. I didn’t say I said so. It is not me who said it. It is the man who is supposed to be an elder statesman that said so. You are the one going about telling people what I did.”
