The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has refuted the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that its land title was revoked as a ploy to suppress opposition.
Mr Wike made the statement during a visit by officials of the Body of Benchers, led by Chairman Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), in Abuja on Friday.
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Mr Wike, who is also a life bencher, expressed dismay over PDP’s allegation that he had been instructed to revoke the party’s land title in Central Area, Abuja, to stifle opposition.
He pointed out that political, religious, and ethnic sentiments were often linked to every executive action in the country.
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He said that 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.
Mr 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.
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Mr Wike further explained 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.
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.
“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?” Mr 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 (INEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as well as individuals had also had their land titles revoked for the same reason.
He said that CBN had been pleading for the reversal of its land title, “but I told the bank to pay the outstanding ground rent before the revocation will be reversed.”
Mr Wike also advised the Body of Benchers to ensure they paid their ground rent, warning that no defaulting land allottee would be spared.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Wike had approved the revocation of 4,794 land titles on 17 March due to non-payment of ground rent for over 10 years, affecting individuals, corporate organisations, and government institutions.
(NAN)
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