Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the claim by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, that its land title was revoked as a ploy to suppress opposition.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.
