Following misconduct to Indian PM, Wike begs for understanding, blames diarrhoea for alcohol-laced rage inside Aso Rock
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has appealed to the presidency not to activate disciplinary measures against him after a video surfaced online appearing to show him shoving the Indian prime minister during the latter’s recent state visit to Nigeria.
The FCT minister said his apparent misconduct against Narendra Modi at the State House was induced by a perennial battle with diarrhoea, which he said has barely declined since starting several weeks ago, Peoples Gazette heard from officials in the presidency.
Mr Wike, a politician whose battle with alcohol has been a matter of public knowledge, appeared intoxicated and disoriented while welcoming the Indian delegation on Sunday, the video showed.
The minister’s gait was unsteady, and at some point, he stiffened himself as if he wanted to salute the Indian leader, but the salute never happened. It was unclear why Mr Wike, a civilian without any military background, would abruptly stiffen himself in a manner akin to military officers.
Sources familiar with the matter informed The Gazette that Mr Wike was deploying different tactics to avoid disciplinary action over his undignified demeanour towards Nigeria’s international guests.
Mr Wike, according to sources at the presidency, claimed he suffered diarrhoea and was only in haste to get to the toilet to justify his disoriented behaviour towards the Indian leader.
“His office has informed us in the Villa that the minister was having a hard time controlling himself because of diarrhoea that he had been battling for some time now,” sources acquainted with knowledge of the matter said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is a sensitive matter that involved a high-ranking official.
The matter has been escalated to the disciplinary desk, but Mr Tinubu has yet to approve that the minister be issued a query to explain why he embarrassed his foreign guest.
Mr Wike, unsure of his fate after the fiasco and in a bid to outsmart the presidency, quickly reached out to relevant officials and blamed his behaviour on diarrhoea.
“The president has not directed us to query him, but he seemed to have sensed the possibility of being queried so he tried to get ahead of the situation,” sources said.
“The president will take the final decision on the matter, but everyone was quite embarrassed that it happened at all. It was entirely avoidable.”
But Mr Wike’s “diarrhoea” excuse does not tally with a statement he made earlier this week through his media aide, Lere Olayinka.
The minister denied intentionally mistreating the Indian leader and stressed that his assignment was only to deliver Mr Modi to the State House, which he did.
But in all of Mr Olayinka’s bluster debunking claims that the minister was banned from entering the Villa, he did not raise the issue of “diarrhoea.”
“Fact is, the FCT minister led the prime minister to his hotel from the airport, and it was from the hotel that he (Mr Wike) led the prime minister to the Presidential Villa on Sunday morning, where his duty ended,” Mr Olayinka said in a statement on Wednesday.
In the video that showed Mr Wike shoving the Indian leader, the minister looked confused and overwhelmed seconds after shaking the Indian leader. There was a little opening between the Indian PM and an aide walking behind him. The video showed that Mr Wike hurriedly squeezed himself between the opening, shoving Mr Modi as he walked away with an unsteady gait.
Mr Wike’s demeanour and gait suggested that he was not himself somewhat acting under the influence of alcohol.
The minister, and a former two-term Rivers governor was not a stranger to accusations of alcohol abuse.
Mr Wike had built a notoriety for being confrontational and reckless, from denigrating traditional chiefs to blasting political adversaries using uncouth language. Many blamed the minister’s behaviour on alcoholism, noting that only alcohol would give him the confidence to act the way he does.
Senior lawyer Chidi Odinkalu on November 4 berated him for interpreting “The Bar” invitation to the Nigerian Bar Association to mean a drinks bar where he could “get hopelessly drunk.”
“#NyesomWike became a member of the Nigerian Bar Association HQ in 1998 & promptly mistook #TheBar for an invitation to get hopelessly drunk,” Mr Odinkalu wrote on his LinkedIn page to flay the minister for his long battle with alcohol abuse.
Mr Wike, according to the human rights law professor, was a “#greedyglutton” who binged “on every beverage the country can offer,” including “violence” and “vintage alcohol.”
Rotimi Amaechi, who Mr Wike succeeded as Rivers governor, said that the minister spent an average of N50 million buying alcoholic beverages every week.
“The person Wike buys alcohol from, Sid Wike spends N50 million every week on alcohol. The primary school we built is N112 million. It means that in two weeks, Wike has drank (sic) one primary school,” Mr Amaechi said in March 2023. “When Wike talks, it is alcohol that is talking. And he’s so shameless about it. Wike told the whole world on live TV that he was drinking a very expensive 40-year-old whiskey in the morning.”
The FCT minister had admitted to drinking a 40-year-old Whiskey in the morning while watching his party members protest against Mr Tinubu’s presidential election victory.
“As they were protesting, I just sat down and took a 40-year whiskey. I called some of my friends and opened the 40-year-old whisky as they were protesting,” Mr Wike said.
In response, PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar labelled Mr Wike “a drunkard” who could take alcoholic beverages in the morning despite being on official duty.
The Indian embassy did not immediately return comments on whether Mr Modi took offence at the FCT minister’s conduct. The presidency also declined comments.
Mr Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Nigeria in 17 years after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the West African nation in October 2007.
Mr Tinubu conferred Mr Modi with the national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of Niger, the nation’s second highest award, in appreciation of his contributions to strengthening bilateral ties. (Peoples Gazette)
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