By Pascal Ibe

Claim

A Facebook page, Progressive Nigerian Politics, published a video of President Bola Tinubu commending Nyesom Wike alongside the claim that this clip was a response to the recent clash Wike had with a Naval officer.

Verdict

This claim is MISLEADING. The video recycled as recent by the Facebook page was from an interview the president had with journalists in December 2024 in Lagos and NOT recent.

Full Text

For the past week, a lieutenant in the Nigerian Navy, Ahmed Yerima, had become the talk of the Nigerian internet space, after his face-off with the FCT minister.

Wike and the naval officer clashed on 11 November over the land purportedly belonging to a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo (retd).

The minister accused the retired military chief of carrying out illegal development on the land and confronted Yerima for allegedly assaulting personnel of the Federal Capital Development Authority, who had gone to halt the ongoing construction.

In a viral video, Wike questioned the military officers’ presence on the disputed land, insisting that the ex-naval chief had no legal documents to back his claim to the property.

However, Yerima told the minister that he and his men were acting on superior orders and could not vacate the land as demanded.

Prominent Nigerians, the minister’s allies, have either condemned the actions of Wike or spoken in support of him.

Some Nigerians have called on President Tinubu to sack the FCT minister over the incident.

Regarding this, a Facebook page, Progressive Nigerian Politics, published a video of the president commending Wike and claimed it was the president’s response to the recent incident.

The Facebook page posted the video with a caption that reads, “President backs Wike over the military”.

The post had generated hundreds of reactions and comments on Facebook.

Verification

First, FACTWATCH Nigeria did a keyword search, citing what the president said in the video clip. For instance, Tinubu hailed Wile as a “good man and performing minister”.

This search led this Fact Checker to a longer clip of this, which first appeared online in December 2024.

We understand that this video was an interview of the president with journalists in Lagos last year.

In the interview, President Tinubu commended the Minister’s drive, describing him as a “goldmine” and a “performing Minister,” and famously stated that he “doffed his hat” to him.

Conclusion

The video of Tinubu commending Wike which was used to depict the president’s response to the FCT minister-Naval officer recent clash is unrelated