‘I’ve Made A Bunch Of New Friends After The Bolt Driver Assault Incident’ – Alex Ikwechegh

A member of the House of Representatives, Alex Ikwechegh, who assaulted a bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, last year October, has said he and his victim are friends now.

Naija News reports that Ikwechegh, who represents Aba North & South Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber on the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) platform in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, said he has moved on from the incident and has built a friendship with the bolt driver and other people.

The lawmaker also claimed that the controversial squabble with the bolt driver increased his popularity among Nigerians as the man who makes things disappear.

He said, “What happened was quite unfortunate, but I take it as an opportunity to build a relationship with the young man. Today, we are friends. I was taken to court, but the court found no merit, and then it was struck out.

“The video that everybody saw was a low moment. I felt the sanctity of my home was being desecrated. The part of the video where you people saw was the part that people saw; people do not know what happened before that reaction. Like they say, actions pre-empt reactions.

“But whatever anybody has seen is not indicative of who I am. I’ve been in the public space for a very long time and there has never been any scandal about me. However, the young man is my friend now and I am very close to his bishop, his pastor and I’ve made a bunch of new friends and today the whole of Nigeria now knows me as the man that makes things to disappear. We’ve moved on, it’s in the past now.”

Last October, Nigerians were outraged when a video of Ikwechegh assaulting Abuwatseya went viral.

In the video recorded by the victim, Ikwechegh, while assaulting Abuwatseya, called him a rat and even threatened to make him disappear.

The Abia State lawmaker claimed the driver disrespected him by asking him to step out of his house to collect the snail he was meant to deliver to him.

In the heat of the scandal, the 44-year-old politician apologised for his actions and added that he and his victim had explored alternative dispute resolution methods to resolve the issue.