The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, should not be blamed for revoking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat land title due to unpaid ground rent for 28 years, says his media aide, Lere Olayinka. Instead, he pointed fingers at PDP elders like Chief Bode George, accusing them of failing to settle the dues for decades.
Olayinka’s statement, issued on Saturday in Abuja, came as a sharp response to Chief Bode George’s claim that Wike had “crossed the red line” by revoking the party’s land title. During a televised interview, George had described the move as a direct attack on the PDP.
But Olayinka dismissed George’s outrage, labeling it as selective amnesia. He argued that the PDP should be held accountable for its own negligence, questioning why the party failed to pay a mere ₦7.6 million in ground rent despite raising over ₦21 billion in 2014 for its national secretariat project.
“Why didn’t the PDP settle its 20-year ground rent arrears? Should Wike have exempted the PDP from the same rules that applied to 4,794 other revoked land titles?” Olayinka queried.
He also clarified that the Wadata Plaza, which currently serves as the PDP secretariat, was never owned by the party but by Senator Samaila Mamman Kurfi. He recalled that the PDP attempted to buy the building in 2005 but failed to complete the process due to non-payment of ₦26.9 million in required fees.
“Back then, PDP even begged the then FCT Minister, Nasir El-Rufai, to waive the payment, claiming financial incapacity. He refused, yet Chief Bode George did not accuse him of waging war against the PDP,” Olayinka added.
Defending Wike’s impartial enforcement of the law, Olayinka pointed out that other major institutions, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and multiple state governments, were also affected by the mass revocation.
“Would Chief Bode George have exempted PDP if he were the FCT Minister?” Olayinka asked, urging the elder statesman to act with objectivity instead of harboring personal grudges against Wike.
He also took a dig at George’s political influence, stating that the PDP’s electoral performance in Lagos, George’s stronghold, could not compare to the party’s success under Wike in Rivers State.
The controversy continues to heat up as the PDP grapples with the fallout of its revoked land title, raising questions about internal accountability and financial management.
