FCT Minister Dismisses Allegations of Land Allocation to Son in Prime Abuja Districts

By Sofiat Adenekan

The Office of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has firmly denied claims that the Minister allocated 2,082 hectares of land in the highbrow districts of Maitama and Asokoro to one of his sons.

Describing the allegation as “another falsehood from the vault of those whose main job is to malign the FCT Minister,”Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister, Lere Olayinka, issued a statement on Thursday refuting the report.

According to Olayinka, “not even a single plot of land has been allocated to any of the Minister’s children.” He dismissed the publication as the work of “quack journalists” and challenged those behind the report to produce evidence of any land allocation linked to the Minister’s family.

“In Asokoro and Maitama of today, where can the FCT Minister see 2,082 hectares of land to allocate to anyone?” he queried. “Only quack journalists will go to town with a story of such an allocation. This is why some of us have continually advocated for professionalism in journalism.”

The publication in question cited a Right of Occupancy issued to JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited as evidence of the purported land allocation. However, Olayinka clarified that the company received land in Bwari Area Council strictly for agricultural purposes and that the allocation had no connection to the Minister’s family.

“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,” the statement said.

He further emphasized that while it is within the legal rights of the Minister and his family to own land anywhere in Nigeria, no such allocation has been made to any of his children.

Olayinka urged the public to disregard what he described as a “malicious and bitterness-painted publication,” adding that the narrative was being peddled by individuals bent on discrediting the FCT administration under Wike’s leadership.