Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, has strongly refuted an online report alleging that the minister allocated 2,082 hectares of land to one of his sons in Maitama and Asokoro.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Olayinka dismissed the report as “another falsehood from the vault of those whose main job is to malign the FCT minister,” asserting that “not even a single plot of land has been allocated to any of the Minister’s children.”
Challenging the credibility of the claim, Olayinka questioned: “In Asokoro and Maitama of today, where can the FCT minister see 2,082 hectares of land to allocate to anyone?” He described the report as the work of “quacks,” emphasizing that only unprofessional sources would circulate such an exaggerated allegation.
The minister’s spokesperson demanded concrete evidence from the online publisher, challenging them to provide “evidence of any land allocation bearing the name of any of the Minister’s children.”
The full statement read: “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.
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“In the publication, a Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) issued to JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited, for Agricultural purpose 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 the Bwari Area Council for the purpose of farming.
“So what is wrong with a farmer getting land allocation strictly for the purpose of agriculture?
“Therefore, the publication, claiming that the FCT minister allocated 2,082 hectares of land to his son, is false and should be disregarded.”
Olayinka clarified that while Minister Wike and his family members have the legal right to own property in the FCT like any other Nigerian, no such allocations to the minister’s children have occurred. He emphasized that the cited agricultural land allocation to JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited was properly documented and intended solely for farming purposes in Bwari Area Council.
