Wike Refutes Claims of Being Blocked from Aso Rock Villa Over Drunkenness

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has refuted allegations that he was barred from the Aso Rock Presidential Villa due to drunkenness.

The claims originated from Jackson Ude, an independent journalist, who alleged on his verified X handle that Wike was intoxicated when he received Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Ude further claimed that an anonymous security officer from the presidential villa corroborated this information.

In response, Wike, through a statement by his media aide Lere Olayinka, dismissed these allegations as false. The statement clarified that Wike had dutifully received the Indian Prime Minister as instructed by President Bola Tinubu.

"Fact is, the FCT Minister led the Prime Minister to his hotel, from the Airport and it was from the hotel that he (Wike) led the Prime Minister to the Presidential Villa on Sunday morning, where his duty ended," the statement read.

Olayinka criticized Ude for spreading misinformation, citing previous instances where Ude made unsubstantiated claims about other high-profile Nigerians.

For instance, Ude had previously alleged that Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi State, fled Nigeria with assistance from the Minister of State of Defense, Bello Matawalle. However, Bello appeared at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on September 18, 2024, contradicting Ude's claims.

The statement concluded by asserting that despite releasing photographic evidence of Wike with the Indian Prime Minister at the hotel and the Presidential Villa, Ude might continue to fabricate stories. "Up till now, Jackson Ude is still spinning lies to defend his initial lies. But for us who know his antecedents, we will not dignify him henceforth," Olayinka stated.