The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, has said his principal will not dignify some hustlers masquerading as activists with any response.
Wike’s aide made this remark on Saturday in response to the recent attack by Human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju amid the FCT demolition.
Speaking in a statement issued to newsmen, Olayinka said Wike would not respond to those jumping from one social media platform to another to speak against him, adding that he knows the antics through which the activists have sustained themselves and will not yield to it.
READ ALSO:
He said, “While growing up as a child in the hilly town of Okemesi Ekiti, one of the lessons I learned from my grandfather was never to wrestle with pigs.
“He was constantly telling us that the danger of wrestling with a pig will be that at the end of the fight, sane minds won’t be able to differentiate between you and the pig you fought with.
“Therefore, as a matter of principle, we won’t dignify some people with any response.
“This is more so that we know how a certain emergency activist diverted election money to purchase a petrol station. We know how some so-called activists have fought themselves over protest money, including the one in 2019.
In 2016, when I was contesting for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, someone approached me, telling me that there would be a lot of money to be made if I emerged.
“He said all I needed was for us to work together and that he would be the one to source information to be used to issue press statements against public office holders. His would be to approach the public officeholders concerned and get money out for us.
“Today, that fellow is one of those parading themselves as activists. Therefore, we won’t dignify them.
“The style of these hustlers masquerading as activists has always been the same. They will threaten and blackmail you by making noise in the media or organizing protests against you.
“They will be the same people who will arrange for someone to approach you so that the ‘activists’ can be reached and that they can help.
“The moment you agree, they will come back with bills that you must pay, and once you pay, they move on to another target, in most cases, public office holders.
There are some whose area of core competence is to organize press conferences for or against and get paid.
“Unfortunately for these hustler activists, Wike does not play that kind of game, and that’s the reason they are frustrated.
“Therefore, for us, they will shout, shout and shout tyre, the Minister will keep ignoring them and focusing on his jobs, delivery of which can be seen across the FCT.”
