The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was conspicuously absent from President Bola Tinubu’s 73rd birthday celebration at the Presidential Villa, igniting speculation about his whereabouts.
Amidst this, Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, has debunked viral reports alleging that the minister collapsed in Abuja.
Social media posts, particularly on X (formerly Twitter), claimed that Wike slumped at an event on Friday and was hurriedly taken to an undisclosed hospital.
However, when contacted by journalists, Olayinka dismissed the reports as “fake,” maintaining that Wike was in good health.
Despite his absence from the Presidential Villa celebration, Wike conveyed his birthday wishes to President Tinubu via social media.
The rumors about Wike’s health come amid the deepening political turmoil in Rivers State, where he and his estranged ally, the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, are engaged in an intense power struggle.
Tensions further escalated on Friday following fresh allegations leveled against Governor Fubara by the state’s former Head of Service, George Nwaeke.
Some social media users have reacted to Wike’s post, fueling further debate over the ongoing political crisis and his absence from Tinubu’s birthday event.
