Lere Olayinka: Wike didn’t intend to shoot Seun Okinbaloye — comment was hyperbolic

Lere Olayinka, senior special assistant on public communications to Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says the minister’s remark about Seun Okinbaloye, a Channels Television journalist, was made in a hyperbolic context.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Olayinka explained that Wike’s comment was not meant to be takehn literally, adding that both the minister and Okinbaloye have since spoken on the phone to clarify the issue.

During a media chat on Friday, Wike expressed frustration over remarks made by Okinbaloye on Politics Today, where the journalist discussed concerns about Nigeria potentially drifting toward a one-party state.

Reacting to the programme, Wike said:

“I was surprised yesterday, thoroughly surprised. When I was watching Politics Today, Seun. If there was any way to break the screen, I would have shot him.”

Okinbaloye had earlier described it as disappointing that the 2027 elections appear to be shaping up as a contest dominated by a single political party, citing the crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

‘Comment Taken Out of Context’

Clarifying the minister’s statement, Olayinka said Wike had no intention of harming the journalist, stressing that the remark was an expression of anger rather than a literal threat.

He added that the minister was displeased because he believed Okinbaloye spoke more like an “interested party” than a neutral interviewer regarding the ADC leadership crisis.

“The minister never meant that he would shoot Seun Okinbaloye. They even spoke on the phone today, and he (Okinbaloye) understood what the minister meant,” the statement read.

Olayinka explained that the comment was a form of exaggeration used to emphasize Wike’s displeasure.

“What the minister meant, which he made clear during the media chat, was that he was disappointed to see a journalist he holds in high esteem appear to take sides in a political matter,” he said.

He further noted that Wike clarified his statement during the live programme, explicitly stating that he did not intend any literal harm. According to Olayinka, journalists present during the interview understood the context and reacted with laughter.

Olayinka concluded that any attempt to portray the remark as a genuine threat amounts to a deliberate misrepresentation for political gain.