The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has challenged Adeniyi Adeyemi, the Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), to step forward and substantiate his recent allegations against the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, rather than evading scrutiny.
Speaking during a media chat on Thursday in Abuja, Wike said he has observed that officials closest to the core of executive administration such as chiefs of staff, secretaries to the government, and finance heads are frequently targeted by individuals seeking to disrupt or embarrass a sitting government.
The Minister maintained that if the grievances were genuine, Adeyemi should confront the chief of staff and relevant security agencies directly with his documentation instead of remaining in hiding. Wike noted that official communication logs remain completely available for investigation.
“If it was indeed correct, eyeball to eyeball, go to the security. He cannot say this,” Wike said.
During the broadcast, Wike also disclosed details of a separate, failed extortion attempt targeted directly at his own family. Unnamed individuals had alleged that his son facilitated an illicit financial transaction concerning government land allocations within the FCT. Wike dismissed the claim as entirely fabricated, stating that an internal review by his Chief Security Officer quickly established that the timeline provided by the accuser did not align with his son’s verified travel records on the date in question.
The FCT Minister revealed that he rejected backdoor overtures to resolve the matter quietly to protect his reputation, choosing instead to handle it transparently.
“Why not settle? Settle what? This is blackmail. I would not allow that. I wouldn’t do it,” he said.
Wike questioned why unverified claims against public officials are frequently treated as public relations issues to be managed rather than legal matters to be formally investigated. He dismissed assertions that the PFIPC head is avoiding the public eye out of concern for personal safety.
“Which life? Is your life bigger than the lives of other people in the country?” he asked.
Wike closed by emphasizing that high-profile allegations must be thoroughly investigated to their logical conclusion rather than used as arbitrary leverage to demand the removal of public officers.