The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for threatening to shoot Channels Television presenter, Seun Okinbaloye.
Papers News reported that during a Thursday edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, Okinbaloye had claimed that the 2027 elections were shaping up as a contest between one political party, owing to the crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He added that Nigeria is doomed democratically if the only hope of opposition, ADC, cannot contest the 2027 election.
“I’m particularly very pained because what makes the race very interesting is when it’s competitive and not when only one party stands in the middle of the ballot, and we are looking for the rest of the political parties.
“But we get one of them talking tonight about the state of ADC, particularly, it looks like one of the only hopes of the opposition going into 2027. If this hope is dashed, we are doomed democratically speaking.” Okinbaloye said.
However, speaking on Friday during a media chat in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Wike said Okinbaloye’s comment showed he was taking sides in the crisis rocking the ADC.
He said, “If there was any way to break the screen (of the television), I would have shot him.”
Reacting, ADC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, in a post via 𝕏 on Saturday, described Wike’s remarks as irresponsible and unacceptable, stressing that such remarks constitute a direct attack on freedom of speech.
He wrote, “Wike threatening to shoot Seun Okinbaloye from Channels Television for doing his job as a journalist is irresponsible and unacceptable.
“This must be condemned by all lovers of freedom of speech. After destroying opposition parties, they now want to start shooting journalists.”
