Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Publicity and Communications to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has faulted former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai (retd.), over his comments on the minister’s altercation with a naval officer in Abuja.
Speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, Olayinka said he was surprised that Buratai was more concerned about the minister’s exchange with a uniformed officer than about the redeployment of military personnel to perform duties unrelated to national security.
“When I read the statement by Tukur Buratai, I was like — a former Chief of Army Staff is not concerned about talking to a uniform man. He’s not concerned about military men who should be at the war front,” Olayinka said.
“Naval officers who should be in the Chad Basin confronting terrorists are being converted into private guards guarding uncompleted buildings. Which one is a security threat to Nigeria?”
Olayinka argued that the naval officer involved in Tuesday’s confrontation acted unlawfully, stressing that “not all orders are lawful.”
He maintained that Wike, as FCT Minister, was within his rights to question the presence of armed personnel on disputed land.
His reaction followed Buratai’s earlier warning that the altercation between Wike and the naval officer posed a “clear and present danger to national security.”
In a statement posted on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, Buratai had argued that Wike’s conduct undermined the authority of the Commander-in-Chief and eroded military discipline.
He described the minister’s action as “a public humiliation of a soldier” and “an attack on the foundation of national order.”
Buratai also advised Wike to issue a public apology to President Bola Tinubu and the naval officer.
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