The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has again dismissed claims that land in the nation’s capital were allocated to children of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The FCTA described the allegations as “sponsored blackmail.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister, Lere Olayinka, maintained that no such allocations exist and challenged critics to provide proof of ownership of the companies linked to the controversy.
Olayinka described the allegations as a repeated attempt to tarnish the Minister’s reputation, stating, “As usual, this sponsored blackmail has failed. Nothing will stop the Minister from continuing his developmental efforts in the FCT in accordance with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.”
He said, “Last week, it was unfounded and poorly carried out propaganda of Wike allocating 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama to one of his sons, even when no such land is available in the two districts combined.
“They used a document showing allocation of land for farming in Bwari Area Council to a company, JOAQ Farms, to justify the falsehood.
“This week, it is tales of allocation of land to another son of the Minister because documents showed allocation of lands to a company, Jordan Farms.”
“Even though like other Nigerians, it is the rights of children of the Minister, his friends, associates, and relatives to own lands anywhere in the country, including the FCT, provided all necessary conditions are met, as at today, no land has been allocated to any of the Minister’s children,” he stated.
Olayinka added that land was duly allocated to Jordan Farms and Estates Limited, a company duly registered in Nigeria, with none of the children of the FCT Minister as director of the company.
He emphasised, “That one of the sons of the FCT Minister is Jordan and there is a company, Jordan Farms and Estates Limited, is no reason anyone should conclude that the company belongs to Wike’s son.
“Records of ownership of the company are available at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and we challenge purveyors of these stories to publish names of the company owners.”
Citing the correlation between his name, Lere Olayinka and Lere Local Government in Kaduna State, he asked, “Do I own the Local Government? Am I even from Kaduna State? There are companies like Jordan Telecommunications, Jordan Foods, etc. Are they also owned by Wike’s son?”
The minister’s aide further stated that in the United Kingdom, there is Jordan’s Farms, asking if the company is also owned by the FCT minister’s son.
“On the document showing the name and signature of one of the Minister’s security aides, the question to be asked is simple, who owns the company; Hyper Communications Limited? If I choose to assist my friend, associate, or relative to collect property documents, does that confer ownership of the property on me?
“Therefore, let that fellow from Adamawa State, who is struggling to get at the FCT Minister for supporting power rotation between the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria, put more efforts. This is because, just like the one of last week, this one too has failed even before its commencement,” he said.
