The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike has disputed online reports that he allocated to one of his sons about 2,000 hectares of land in the Maitama and Asokoro areas.
According to an internet allegation, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike covertly handed his son 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama, two of Abuja’s most premium areas.
The publication mentioned a Right of Occupancy supposedly issued in the name of JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited, which it associated with Wike’s family. The investigation implied that the land, which was intended for agricultural reasons, was being utilised as a front for personal benefit.
In response to the reports, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, condemned the publication as “another falsehood from the vault of those whose main job is to malign the FCT minister.”
In a statement on Thursday, Olayinka said, “Not even a single plot of land has been allocated to any of the minister’s children.”
He denied the allegations as the handiwork of “quack journalists, who lacked basic training in journalism”, questioning the logic behind the story.
“In Asokoro and Maitama of today, where can the FCT Minister see 2,082 hectares of land to allocate to anyone? Only quack journalists will go to town with the story of the allocation of 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama; this is the reason some of us have continually advocated for professionalism in journalism,” the statement read.
Olayinka accused the publication of seeking to discredit the FCT Minister and stated that Wike and his family had the right to purchase land anywhere in the FCT as long as they followed all of the appropriate standards.
“My attention has been drawn to yet another malicious falsehood coming from the same elements whose job is to defame and malign the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
“Even though it is the right of the minister and members of his family, both immediate and extended, to own lands anywhere in Nigeria, including the FCT, provided all necessary conditions are met, no land has been allocated to any of his children.”
“In the publication, a Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) issued to JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited for agricultural purposes was the only evidence used to justify the claim.
“For the avoidance of doubt, JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited, a company duly registered in Nigeria, got land allocation in Bwari Area Council for the purpose of farming.
“So what’s wrong with a farmer getting land allocation strictly for the purpose of agriculture?” he queried.
