A member of the House of Representatives, Alex Ikwechegh, has jocularly said that his squabble with a Bolt driver in Abuja in October 2024 increased his popularity among Nigerians as “the man that makes things to disappear”.

Ikwechegh, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, said he has moved on from the episode and has built a friendship with the e-hailing driver, Stephen Abuwatseya.

Ikwechegh represents Aba North & South Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

He said, “What happened was quite unfortunate but I take it as a revenue for me as a person to also 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, Ikwechegh was seen angrily confronting and hitting the driver while making threatening remarks. “Can you imagine this rat? I can make this man disappear in the whole of Nigeria and nothing will happen.”

Going by the conversation recorded in the viral video, the lawmaker had ordered some snails from a vendor who engaged the services of the e-hailing App driver to deliver the goods.

A heated disagreement ensued when the Bolt driver arrived at the lawmaker’s residence and asked to be paid but the lawmaker accused the driver of disrespect because he didn’t step down from his car to deliver the goods.

The APGA lawmaker thudded three slaps on the cheeks of the driver who maintained his composure in the face of the assault. The lawmaker had challenged his victim to call on the Inspector General of Police for help.

Many Nigerians were incensed with the conduct of the lawmaker and demanded that justice be served in the matter. The police subsequently arrested Ikwechegh and arraigned him. The lawmaker later apologised to IGP and his victim. The matter was settled out of court with compensation given to the victim.