The Minister of the FCT, Mr. Nyesom Wike has denied that the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, was a direct target of the recent revocation of land titles in Abuja.
Indeed, he has flatly rejected a statement by the party that its title was revoked to suppress opposition while receiving officials of the Body of Benchers, led by Chairman Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, a senior advocate, in Abuja on Friday.
Wike, a life bencher, denied PDP’s claim that he was told to revoke their land title in Abuja’s Central Area to suppress opposition.
He noted that executive actions in the country often had political, religious, and ethnic implications.
He stated that the revocation of land titles for allottees, who had failed to pay the mandatory ground rent for over a decade, is frequently misconstrued as a political action.
Wike pointed out 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.
He noted that despite 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.
Wike asserted that the PDP’s National Secretariat at Wadata Plaza is registered under a Senator in Abuja, rather than the party itself.
He noted that 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.
“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 emphasised that the land revocation was not peculiar to the PDP, stating that other institutions, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria including individuals had also had their land titles revoked for the same reason.
He said that CBN had been pleading for the reversal of the land title, “but I told the bank to pay the outstanding ground rent before the revocation will be reversed.”
Wike cautioned the Body of Benchers to pay their ground rent, stating that defaulters would face consequences.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 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.
NAN
