Former Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka, has criticised the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his recent confrontation with a uniformed military officer in Abuja.
In a statement on Tuesday, Chidoka said any law enforcement officer in uniform represents the authority of the Nigerian state, stressing that abusing such an officer “diminishes the authority of the Republic.”
He described Wike’s decision to personally enforce a directive at a disputed site as “a fundamental misstep,” noting that executive power in a constitutional democracy must be exercised through lawful institutions and procedures, not through physical confrontation.
“In a democracy, ministers act through process, not presence. A formal communication to the Minister of Defence would have sufficed. If the officers were on illegal duty, the established disciplinary systems would have addressed it,” Chidoka stated.
He added that a minister cannot assume the role of an enforcer of directives, warning that such conduct “violates the very idea of ordered government.”
Chidoka said Wike should apologise to the officer for using “abusive language,” describing the behaviour as unacceptable.
He also faulted the Department of State Services (DSS) operatives attached to Wike, saying their duty was to “extract their principal from a potentially dangerous situation, not to escalate it.”
According to him, “This episode demeans the dignity of the office of the minister and undermines the image of disciplined governance.”
