Former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka has berated the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his recent confrontation with a uniformed officer.
He argued that Wike’s conduct was a breach of due process and the principles of democratic governance.
Speaking via a statement titled “Minister Wike: Power, Process, and the Rule of Law,” Chidoka insisted that executive authority must operate through institutions, not personal impulse.
He said Wike’s decision to personally enforce a directive at a disputed site was “a fundamental misstep”,
“Any law enforcement officer, in uniform or plain clothes, represents the President and the sovereignty of the Nigerian state. To abuse such an officer is to diminish the authority of the Republic itself,” he said.
The statement followed the emergence of a video showing the FCT Minister in a confrontation with soldiers in Abuja over access to a parcel of land.
In the video clip, now circulating on social media, the minister is seen engaging in a heated exchange with some soldiers over access to a property within the territory.
According to Chidoka, ministers are expected to act “through process, not presence”, adding that a formal communication to the Minister of Defence would have sufficed if the officers were acting unlawfully.
He cautioned that trading words with a uniformed officer “corrodes discipline and confuses hierarchy,” and urged Wike to apologise for using abusive language.
Chidoka also faulted the conduct of the Department of State Service (DSS) operatives attached to Wike, saying they ought to have de-escalated the confrontation rather than fuelled it.
“Their responsibility was to extract their principal from a rancorous and potentially dangerous situation, not to escalate it,” he stated.
He added that the incident was “a cautionary tale” that demeans the dignity of the minister’s office and undermines the image of disciplined governance.
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