War of words: Wike questions Odinkalu’s record; Odinkalu responds with strong rebuke
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, and prominent human rights lawyer Chidi Odinkalu, former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), have engaged in a heated exchange following remarks Wike made on Friday.
During the launch of the N10 billion FCT Renewed Hope program, where 80 new vehicles were added to the FCT transport system, Wike openly criticized Odinkalu, questioning his track record at the NHRC and his academic credentials as a professor.
In response to an article attributed to Odinkalu, Wike reportedly asked, “Someone showed me a write-up they said was written by a professor. I asked him, professor of which university? Nobody knows. They were given an opportunity in the Human Rights Commission. Ask them what their performance was. What was the record when the government allowed him to be there? Zero!”
Odinkalu, a Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, responded swiftly on social media, calling Wike a “greedy glutton” and asserting the minister was unqualified to speak on ethical issues.
In a post on X, Odinkalu stated, “In Abuja, @GovWike is flexing… He can buy whomever he wants with public money to do whatever he desires. But even that has a shelf life. This idiocy will end one day too.”
He continued, “Unlike @GovWike, I have a life outside messing about with the #PublicPurse… A greedy glutton has no business giving lectures on the virtues of being teetotal!”
On Sunday, Odinkalu expanded his criticism on LinkedIn, questioning Wike’s integrity: “#NyesomWike became a member of the Nigerian Bar Association HQ in 1991 and promptly mistook #TheBar for an invitation to get hopelessly drunk.”
