- According to the minister, the reports are part of a coordinated campaign of calumny to tarnish his image and undermine the work he is doing as the FCT minister.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says there is no iota of truth in reports making the rounds that he allocated swathes of land in Abuja to his sons.
According to the minister, the reports are part of a coordinated campaign of calumny to tarnish his image and undermine the work he is doing as the FCT minister.
Lere Olayinka, the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to Lere Olayinka, described the reports of allocation of FCT land to his children as “sponsored blackmail”
Olayinka, in a statement on Tuesday, said those seeking to blackmail the FCT Minister will have to up the ante, adding that “nothing will stop him from continuing with his developmental efforts in the FCT by President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.
While admitting that land was indeed allocated to a company which shares the same name as Wike’s son, that does not automatically mean the land or company belongs to Wike or his family.
He said, “Last week, it was unfounded and poorly carried out propaganda of Wike allocating 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama to one of his sons, even when no such land is available in the two districts combined. They used a document showing the allocation of land for farming in the Bwari Area Council to a company, JOAQ Farms, to justify the falsehood.
“This week, it is tales of allocation of land to another son of the Minister because documents showed allocation of lands to a company, Jordan Farms.
“Even though, like other Nigerians, it is the right of children of the Minister, his friends, associates and relatives to own lands anywhere in the country, including the FCT, provided all necessary conditions are met, as at today, no land has been allocated to any of the Minister’s children.
“No doubt, land was duly allocated to Jordan Farms and Estates Limited, a company duly registered in Nigeria, with none of the children of the FCT Minister as directors of the company.
“That one of the sons of the FCT Minister is Jordan, and there is a company, Jordan Farms and Estates Limited, which is no reason anyone should conclude that the company belongs to Wike’s son.
“Records of ownership of the company are available at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC,) and we challenge purveyors of these stories to publish the names of the company owners.
“For instance, my name is Lere Olayinka, and there is Lere Local Government in Kaduna State. Do I own the Local Government? Am I even from Kaduna State? There are companies like Jordan Telecommunications, Jordan Foods, etc. Are they also owned by Wike’s son?”
He also downplayed the appearance of the name and signature of one of the minister’s security aides on the land acquisition document.
He also insinuated that former vice president Atiku Abubakar is behind the reports of Wike’s allocation of land to his son because Wike thwarted his presidential ambition by opposing power rotation to the north.
“In the United Kingdom, there is Jordan’s Farms. Is the company also owned by Wike’s son?
“On the document showing the name and signature of one of the Minister’s security aides, the question to be asked is simple: Who owns the company, Hyper Communications Limited? If I choose to assist my friend, associate or relative to collect property documents, does that confer ownership of the property on me?
“Therefore, let that fellow from Adamawa State, who is struggling to get at the FCT Minister for supporting power rotation between the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria, put in more efforts. This is because, just like one of last week’s, this one too has failed even before its commencement
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