Sunday, March 30, 2025 - Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that its land title was revoked as a ploy to suppress opposition.
Wike stated this during a visit by officials of the Body of
Benchers, led by Chairman Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, on Friday in Abuja.
The former Rivers State governor expressed dismay over the PDP’s
allegation that he had been instructed to revoke the party’s land title in
Central Area, Abuja, to stifle opposition.
He explained that political, religious, and ethnic
sentiments were often linked to every executive action in the country.
According to him, the revocation of land titles of
allottees, who had failed to pay mandatory ground rent for over 10 years was
often misinterpreted as a political move.
Wike noted that the PDP had been in power for several years
but could not pay the N7.6 million ground rent for its land title in the
Central Area, where it was constructing its National Secretariat.
The ministry further said that in spite of generating
between N13 billion and N20 billion through the sale of party forms, the PDP
had not paid the ground rent, which amounted to N7.6 million.
He reiterated that the Wadata Plaza, where the PDP’s
National Secretariat was located, was not registered as a property of the party
but was instead registered under a Senator residing in Abuja.
According to the minister, the registered owner had failed
to pay the ground rent for 28 years, but the PDP continued to claim that the
minister was targeting its secretariat.
“Maybe they had a deal with the man and did not complete the
deed of assignment and were shouting oh, they sent Wike to revoke the land as a
ploy to kill opposition.
“What kind of mentality is that?” Wike asked.
He stressed that the land revocation was not peculiar to the
PDP, stating that other institutions, such as the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, including
individuals had also had their land titles revoked for the same reason.
Wike also advised the Body of Benchers to ensure they paid
their ground rent, warning that no defaulting land allottee would be spared.
Wike had
approved the revocation of 4,794 land titles on March 17, 2025, due to non-payment
of ground rent for over 10 years, affecting individuals, corporate
organisations, and government institutions.
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