Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to engage in negotiations with the minister to recover its revoked land title for the party’s National Secretariat.
According to Olayinka, only Wike has the authority to restore the land title and the party should approach him directly instead of seeking public support through media campaigns.
Olayinka, in a recent statement, stressed that the revocation of the PDP’s land title was not politically motivated. He clarified that the FCT Minister’s actions were solely based on his responsibility to uphold the law and enforce land policies in the territory. He further stated that Wike had acted impartially and had no personal or political bias when carrying out his duties.
The controversy surrounding the revocation of the PDP National Secretariat’s land, located in the Central Area of Abuja, has sparked public debate. A letter from the FCT Director of Lands, Chijioke Nwanwkoeze, announced the revocation of the land title, which is still under construction.
The PDP has contested the revocation, but Olayinka clarified that only one of the properties belonged to the PDP, pointing out that the Wadata Plaza, which the PDP currently occupies, actually belongs to Senator Samaila Mamman Kurfi.
In an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Olayinka responded to the PDP’s claims, emphasizing that the minister could not have treated the PDP any differently than the other 4,793 landowners whose titles were also revoked.
“The PDP is trying to stir up public sentiment through the media. The fact is that Wadata Plaza does not belong to the PDP. It belongs to Senator Samaila Mamman Kurfi,” Olayinka explained.
He continued by stating that once a land title is revoked, only the minister has the authority to restore it. Olayinka urged the PDP to follow the same procedure as all other affected landowners, writing directly to the minister to explain any outstanding payments and request an opportunity to resolve the issue.
“If the PDP wants redress, like everyone else, they can write to the minister, explain where they did not pay, and ask for another chance to pay,” Olayinka said. “The minister will not treat the PDP differently from any of the other 4,793 affected landowners.”
The senior aide also addressed the claims that the revocation was politically motivated, stating that the FCT Minister acted without any bias, even though he is a member of the PDP.
Olayinka reiterated that Wike was not involved in managing party affairs and had no prior knowledge that the PDP was among those affected by the revocation.
“The minister did not look at the list of landowners,” Olayinka noted. “He only received a list of 8,375 land titles for those who had failed to pay their ground rent for periods ranging from 10 to 43 years.
Of those, 4,794 titles were identified for revocation, and the minister had no prior knowledge that the PDP was among those affected.”
