Wike: I’m Not Taking Sides with Israeli against Palestine

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that his recent meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria was not to offer support for Israel against Palestine in the ongoing conflict between both sides.

Wike had a meeting on October 3, with the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Freeman, where he expressed the willingness of his administration to partner with the State of Israel on agriculture, information technology and the security of the nation’s capital.

The meeting was before the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the death of more than 1,400 people and more than 200 taken as hostages and the retaliatory onslaughts and bombings unleashed on Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), which have left more than 4,000 Palestinians dead and almost one million people displaced.

The minister, at a recent meeting with the leadership of the Abuja National Mosque Management Board plainly denied having the constitutional powers to determine Nigeria’s diplomatic relations with other countries.

He insisted such powers were conferred on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Wike said he read on social media platforms about having a covet meeting with Israel.

“I am here acting on delegation of powers on behalf of Mr. President.

“I cannot determine a relationship between a country and another country. So, it is difficult for anybody to say I am doing this, I am doing that.  

“Any foreign body that wants to have anything to do with Nigeria, it is the Minister of Foreign Affairs who will write to me and state that these people want to see me; it is simple. And when they come, it is in my position to say look, we want to partner with you. Take for instance, you are going into agriculture and we want to partner, then we tell you where exactly, “Wike said.

He insisted that his meeting with the Israeli Ambassador was purely to promote agricultural partnership in the interest of the farmers in the FCT.

The minister said: “In Abuja here, most of them have cultural farms and we say look, it is our own desire to help anybody who wants to invest in Abuja particularly in agriculture in order to employ our people and in order to get more revenue. It has nothing to do with another country.

“When our people begin to now think different angles and people may not understand that it is not correct. So, I will like to use this opportunity to say look we have to talk to our people. In fact we must live harmoniously. We must live together to make sure that development is promoted.”

The meeting with the Israeli envoy and the violence that has embroiled the Middle-East has led to some elements to insinuate that Wike was offering Nigeria’s support to Israel.