The Ooni of Ife made the remarks on Thursday during the 2025 distinguished personality lecture held at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun state, where Wike served as the keynote speaker.

The monarch expressed surprise over Wike’s appointment as a minister in an All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government, despite being a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), calling it a “mystery”.

“For your career, I will particularly say that I give a very strong honour to the father of the nation, President Bola Tinubu. You belong to a different political party and yet are able to work together,” the traditional ruler told Wike.

“You are part of this government. It is still a mystery. I don’t even know how it happened. For me, it is something that universities should be studying and I mean it. It’s very important.

“Hate him or like him, what will be, will be. He (Wike) is a politician to be studied. I don’t know how he’s been actively relevant for 20 years.”

The monarch said that while Wike may have enemies, he has earned the respect of many because of his fearlessness.

Tinubu Wike as minister in August 2023.

Before the election, Wike said he would not support Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate at the time, due to a zoning dispute and the refusal of Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s then national chairman, to step down.

Tinubu would later win the presidential election in Rivers with 231,591 votes, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party scored 175,071, and Abubakar polled 88,468.

Days before his inauguration, Tinubu said the presidential election without Wike’s support.