Reuben Abati, host of Arise TV, has come under fire from Lere Olayinka, a media assistant to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, over his comments. Olayinka questions why Abati would kneel down to serve his “master.”
Abati attacked Lere on Tuesday’s Arise TV Morning Show, comparing his service to Wike to the purported sycophancy of some of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s appointees.
“When our good friend, Lere Olayinka, knelt down to serve his master, that was the high point of it,” he remarked. What’s going on?
“Look, sycophancy was a common practice in the Nigerian government both before and after we were in office. President Jonathan would order individuals to get up when they were kneeling in front of him.
I actually witnessed people crawling. They act in this way. However, Lere Olayinka will bow down and serve the master because he is more knowledgeable about the game than some of us. All of things has an expiration date.
In response, Lere said in a Facebook post that Jonathan experienced negative publicity as a result of Abati’s inattention while serving as the former president’s media advisor.
“I appreciate you making me a topic on Arise News this morning,” he wrote. Strive to keep going till the end of January 2026.
However, as I have argued, you would not have failed to sufficiently shield President Jonathan from the negative publicity he encountered if you had been as preoccupied with your work as his media adviser as you are with everything Wike these days.
And I hope that your avarice has decreased. since of your avarice, one of your concubines stole millions of naira intended to operate your office since you didn’t want the SSAs and SAs who worked for you to know that you were getting a running grant.
