By Olusola Adigun
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has dismissed allegations that Minister Nyesom Wike allocated 2,082 hectares of land to his son in high-end districts of Maitama and Asokoro, branding the report as “falsehood from quack journalists.”
In a strongly worded statement on Thursday, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, refuted the claims, challenging the publishers to provide proof.
“Not even a single plot of land has been allocated to any of the Minister’s children,” Olayinka declared. “In Asokoro and Maitama of today, where can the FCT Minister find 2,082 hectares to allocate? Only untrained journalists would peddle such a baseless story.”
The rebuttal followed an online report [not in TheWest] alleging that Wike facilitated the land grant to his son through a company, JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited. Olayinka confirmed the company’s legal registration but clarified that its land allocation in Bwari Area Council was strictly for agricultural purposes.
“For the avoidance of doubt, JOAQ Farms received land in Bwari for farming, not in Maitama or Asokoro,” he stated. “What is wrong with a duly registered company obtaining land for agriculture? The publication is false and should be disregarded.”
Olayinka accused the publishers of malice, urging professionalism in journalism. “This is another attempt by bitter elements to defame the Minister,” he said. “We challenge them to present any document linking the Minister’s children to such allocations.”
While acknowledging the Wike family’s right to own land if due process is followed, Olayinka reiterated that no such allocations had been made.
The FCTA’s denial comes amid heightened scrutiny of land dealings in Abuja, with critics demanding transparency. Analysts suggest the backlash reflects deeper political tensions, though Olayinka dismissed the claims as “fabrications from jobless propagandists.”
A recent report published online, in a digital newspaper, had alleged that the hectares of land the minister issued to his son, complete with certificates of occupancy, are valued at a minimum of 3.6 billion. According to the author, a plot in Maitama was recently sold for N1.28 million, while another in Asokoro was sold for 1.4 million.
