Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a human rights lawyer and counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has called on President Bola Tinubu to put an end to the monthly media chat of Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Ejiofor described the programme as extravagant and unnecessary, alleging that it wastes public resources while offering no meaningful benefit to Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the lawyer said the media appearance serves only to provide Wike with a platform to grandstand, at the expense of a nation grappling with economic hardship.
His words: “As millions of Nigerians battle record inflation, stagnant wages, and deepening poverty, it is unconscionable that the minister of the federal capital territory, Nyesom Wike, reportedly spends hundreds of millions of naira monthly on an ostentatious media chat – an exercise that offers little substance and reeks of misplaced priorities.”
Ejiofor said the so-called public engagement is a tone-deaf misuse of public funds and should not be happening in a country where many citizens survive on less than $2 a day.
“Framed as a public engagement, this monthly spectacle is anything but a tone-deaf misuse of public funds – especially in a country where many survive on less than $2 a day, and access to basic healthcare, education, and shelter remains a daily struggle,” he said.
He argued that the money spent on just one edition of the media chat could provide emergency shelter for flood victims in Niger state or fund critical public services.
He said: “To illustrate the waste: the cost of one media edition could fund emergency relief and shelter for thousands displaced by the recent floods in Niger state.
“It could refurbish crumbling primary schools, equip rural clinics, or sustain nutrition programmes in IDP camps for several months.”
Ejiofor said the optics of the media programme are poor, and the implications even more troubling.
“Nigerians are not asking for a televised circus – Nigerians are crying out for competent governance, prudent spending, and people-centred leadership,” he said.
He urged Tinubu to intervene, saying now is not the time for flamboyance but a period that demands responsibility and service.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must take urgent action: call the FCT minister to order, halt this wasteful spending, and redirect focus to service delivery.
“This is not a time for flamboyance and fanfare. It is a moment that demands humility, responsibility, and an unwavering commitment to the public good. Nigeria deserves better. The time to act is now,” he added.