The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has debunked reports circulating on social media that he suffered a heart attack while on a trip to London. Speaking on Thursday during the flag-off of the construction of the Arterial Road N1 linking Wuye District to Ring Road II in Abuja, Wike dismissed the speculation as malicious and absurd.

 

The former Rivers State governor explained that his recent trip abroad was simply a short holiday, his first since assuming office as FCT minister. “Since I took this appointment as minister, I have never had time to travel out, so I said let me go on holidays,” he said. “Each time I travel, I travel with files and Certificates of Occupancy, but this time around I said I won’t travel with any file. If the world will crumble, let it crumble, because one has to be alive before you satisfy all the people.”

 

Wike said it was ironic that while he was taking a well-earned break, false reports emerged alleging that he was hospitalised in London after a heart attack. “Before I know it, I heard that they said I was sick, that I had a heart attack. God will continue to help them to have heart attack,” he said wryly, drawing laughter from the audience.

 

Taking the sarcasm further, the minister threatened to “sign the condolence letters” of those behind the rumours. “It is my prayer I will write a letter that we are sorry we loved him but take heart because it’s God that gives and God that has taken,” Wike said, adding that those spreading such stories are playing “politics with everything.”

 

The minister condemned the growing culture of misinformation and the ease with which unverified claims spread on social media. “This is a country where somebody goes on social media and says Mr President is a criminal and nothing will happen. You are lucky to have a president that believes in the rule of law,” he said. “How somebody can sit down and write all kinds of things—where the person saw me, I don’t know; the hospital you saw me, I do not know—and yet we are all happy reading it on social media.”

 

Wike’s comments come amid a broader concern about fake news and its impact on public discourse in Nigeria. He urged citizens to be more discerning and not to give credence to politically motivated rumours.

 

By publicly addressing the speculation, the minister not only cleared the air about his health but also used the occasion to highlight the dangers of reckless political propaganda and the need for responsible communication in the digital age.