The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has stated that he owes no apology to former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili.
Speaking during a luncheon held at his residence in Old GRA, Port Harcourt, on Friday, Wike said his recent comments about Odili were not insulting but merely a reminder of statements the former governor had made publicly.
The FCT minister, who is also the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, clarified that his remarks on Sunday were intended to echo Odili’s own words.
Wike further accused Odili of encouraging Governor Siminalayi Fubara to disregard the terms of an eight-point peace accord.
The agreement, which was reached in the presence of President Bola Tinubu in December 2023, aimed to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the state.
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.”
Wike, had on Sunday, accused ex-Governor Odili of positioning members of his family in lucrative positions within the state while maintaining control as “the General Overseer”.
The FCT minister made the allegation on Sunday during a thanksgiving service, in response to a comment by Odili, who had said that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had prevented “one man” from turning Rivers State into a personal estate.
An infuriated Wike fired back, urging Odili to stop being a “sycophant and a trader”.
Wike’s luncheon on Friday had in attendance politicians from both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebolo and former Governor of Edo, Adams Oshiomole, also attended the occasion.
During the event, goodwill messages were delivered by several politicians.
Before the speeches, a documentary highlighting instances where Odili had publicly praised Wike was shown to the audience.
