Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has alleged that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is behind reports accusing him of allocating prime plots of land in Abuja to his sons.
In a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike described the allegations as false, politically motivated, and an attempt at blackmail.
The statement dismissed the claims as a continuation of a smear campaign by political opponents who are uncomfortable with Wike’s support for power rotation between the North and South.
“Let that fellow from Adamawa State, who is struggling to get at the FCT Minister for supporting power rotation, put in more effort. This, like last week’s attempt, has failed even before it began,” the statement said, indirectly referring to Atiku.
The aide clarified that no land had been allocated to Wike’s children and accused critics of manipulating unrelated documents. He cited an earlier case where farmland in Bwari Area Council was wrongly linked to Wike’s son, and a fresh claim using documents from a separate firm, Jordan Farms, to allege another son had received land.
“Even though, like other Nigerians, it is the right of the minister’s children, friends, and associates to own land in the FCT provided due process is followed, no such allocations have been made to any of them,” the statement added.
