By Ismaila Ajikobi, Abuja
Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka has said that his boss, Nyesom Wike will not give unnecessary attention to those he called “professional scammers and hustlers’ masquerading as activists.
In a statement on Saturday, Olayinka disclosed that most of the so-called activists jumping from one social media platform to another speaking against the FCT Minister were doing so because he ignored them and that make their Yahoo Yahoo’ antics they have been using to sustained themselves to be failing.
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 will be a lot of money to be made if I emerge. He said all I needed was for us to work together and that he would be the one to source for information to be used to issue press statements against public office holders. His would be to approach the public office holders concerned and get money out for us.
“Today, that fellow is one of those parading themselves as activists. Therefore, we won’t dignify them.”
Speaking further, spokesman of the FCT Minister said; “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 protest against you. They will be the same people that will arrange someone to approach you 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 targets, in most cases, public office holders.
“There are some whose area of core competence is to organize press conference for or against, and get paid.
“Unfortunately for this hustler-activists, Wike is not one who plays that kind of game, and that’s the reason they are frustrated.
“Therefore, for us, they will shout, shout and shout tire, the Minister will keep ignoring them and focusing on his jobs, delivery of which can be seen across the FCT.”
