Did Tinubu’s Ally Wike Suffer Heart Failure in UK, Battling for His Life? Here is What We Know

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering public affairs and governance.

FCT, Abuja – “Breaking News. Wike Suffers Heart Failure in UK. Presently Battling With His Life,” reads the text of a post circulating on social media.

Legit.ng reports that while Nigerian hospitals battle with inadequate equipment and inadequate funding, most of the country’s politicians routinely travel for medical treatment in the United Kingdom (UK).

Scrutinising viral claim about Wike

The same claim about Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), appear here, here, here and here.

Wike, governor of Rivers state from 2015 to 2023, is a strong ally of President Bola Tinubu.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member supported Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 2023 poll. Tinubu eventually won the 2023 presidential election.

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Wike was the leader of the G5, a group of then-PDP governors who were aggrieved with the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the PDP national leadership at the time.

After his inauguration on May 29, 2023, Tinubu appointed Wike as the minister of the FCT, Abuja, apparently as a reward for his support to the president during the election.

Lately, users put up posts on social media claiming that Wike suffered a heart failure and is in grave danger of dying. But how true is this? We probed.

Wike away from duty

We discovered that the story about Wike’s alleged severe illness was published by Nigerian blog, Sahara Reporters. The media outlet said sources privy to the minister’s health status informed it that Wike has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and is currently under medical management in the UK. Apart from that, no such articles from any credible news outlet.

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Also, we found that it has been a while since Wike appeared at public events. Wike was last seen at the flag off of the emergency rehabilitation and dualisation of the Karu Interchange, Customs Clinic Junction road, Abuja, on Wednesday, September 3.

The video and photographs can be seen below:

He has been represented at two public events since that time, fuelling rumours that he might be out of the country for medical reasons.

On Thursday, September 4, chief of staff Chidi Amadi stood in for Wike at the flag off the distribution of fertilisers at 50 percent subsidised rates to farmers across the six area councils of the FCT.

Also, on Thursday, September 11, Mariya Mahmud Bunkure, the minister of state for the FCT, represented Wike at the Association of Paediatric Surgeons of Nigeria (APSON’s) 24th annual general meeting (AGM) and scientific conference in Abuja.

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Wike’s spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, who is vocal on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter), and is often swift to debunk certain reports related to his principal, continues to keep mum on the minister’s true health.

Source: Legit.ng