Wike not to blame for PDP’s land revocation, minister’s aide tackles Bode George
Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has tackled Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Bode George, for faulting the minister for the revocation of their party’s National Secretariat land title in Abuja.
Olayinka maintained that the party leaders should be held responsible for the party’s failure to pay ground rent for 28 years, which led to the revocation.
The aide made the assertion in a statement on Saturday, responding to Bode George’s criticism of Wike over the revocation of the PDP’s national secretariat land.
The elder statesman had described Wike’s action as a “declaration of war” against the party. Dismissing his claims, Olayinka accused the PDP elders of failing to conclude the purchase of the Wadata Plaza property, which the party had attempted to buy in 2005.
He revealed that the PDP was asked to pay N26.9 million to secure the ministerial consent for the property’s purchase, but never made the payment. The party, he said, instead requested a waiver from then FCT Minister, Nasir El-Rufai, citing financial incapacity, a request El-Rufai denied.
“The PDP offered to buy the Wadata Plaza property in 2005, and when the Minister’s consent was sought, the party was asked to pay N26.9 million. The money was never paid. The party wrote a letter to Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the FCT Minister at the time, to waive the payment, claiming that it lacked the financial capacity to pay, but he (El-Rufai) insisted the party must pay.
“El-Rufai, who insisted PDP must do the right thing by paying the necessary fees to the government was a member of the party then, and Chief Bode George, who was in the PDP NWC, did not go to national television to accuse him (El-Rufai) of declaring war against the party. And if the owner did not pay ordinary N2.8 million as 28 years Ground Rent, who is to blame?”, the statement partly read.
He further questioned why the PDP failed to pay N7.6 million in ground rent over 20 years for its national secretariat land in the Central Area, despite raising over N21 billion in 2014 for the building’s completion.
“On the PDP National Secretariat at Central Area, is it the fault of Wike that a mere N7.6 million was owed as 20 years’ Ground Rent, despite that over N21 billion was raised in 2014 for the completion of the building?
“Why didn’t the PDP pay Ground Rent for 20 years on its Plot No. 243 national secretariat (under construction), which is the only property belonging to the party among the 4,794 revoked titles? How’s government’s enforcement of the consequences of land title owners’ refusal to pay Ground Rent declaration of war? Should the FCTA under Wike have treated PDP differently from the 4,794 owners of land titles that were revoked over failure to pay Ground Rent?” he asked.
Olayinka emphasised that the land revocation exercise affected 4,794 land titles, including properties belonging to government institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
He advised Chief Bode George to seek accurate information before making public statements, insisting that Wike was only enforcing the law without bias.
He also compared the PDP’s performance in Wike’s Rivers State and George’s Lagos State, implying that Wike had been more effective in delivering electoral success for the party.
