The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has clarified what transpired between him and a land developer in Abuja who accused him of being anti-Igbo.
Naijaonpoint reports that Wike, in an interview with Journalists, said he received an insulting text message from the land developer accusing him of plans to deal with the Igbos.
While describing the accusation as blackmail, Wike stated that FCT will take a new phase and will no longer be conducive for those with the intention of deceiving the government with land developer identities.
According to the former Governor of Rivers State, land grabbers present themselves as developers to the government with deceptive intentions.
He said, “In his text, he said, ‘You said you want to deal with the Igbos.’
“Imagine such a blackmail. The land we are talking about, did he give it to the Igbos? How can you think you are too smart to tell the public that I said I will deal with the Igbos and people can sit down and listen to such a thing?”
Speaking on the lawsuits against the FCTA, Wike stressed that the suits began before he assumed duties as the minister.
He added, “The problem in this country is impunity. ‘I’ve been doing it before and I’ll continue to do it and nothing will happen.’ Criminals are criminals, they may come in different ways. I’ve never seen land grabbing like in this FCT. Since I came in, there have been so many petitions.
“One company called has over 10 petitions from different owners of properties. So, I summoned a meeting of all of them and they came with their lawyers who are senior advocates. I said look what is this? company A presented their own, company B presented their own, company C and company D Company and E did the same.
“I said okay I’m going to seek advice from external solicitors. I’m not going to take it from inside the house because the legal secretariat and land department have been so compromised. So, I sought the views of two very senior lawyers. They wrote to me with their opinions but arrived at the same thing.”
Speaking further, Wike explained that the land in question was allocated before he became the minister.
He added that the activities of the land developers have affected the government revenue generation as the land is not used for economic purposes.
He said, “First of all, what happened? This land that this so-called ethnic jingoist talked about was allocated when there was no minister. The minister left on May 29, 2023, and in June, the land was allocated by the Director of Lands.
“These guys think they too are clever. We met and said to Company B, don’t do anything again until we are able to make a final decision. Do you know what happened? These guys, thinking they were too smart, went on trying to fence and allocate the land to people to buy.
“How did I know? a lady came and said look honourable minister, I want you to advise me. There’s a place I want to buy land. I asked where and she named the area and I said no, we were having problems with it and I told her not to. Another time, the lady came back because she is a friend of mine and said people were buying and building. I said what?
“Then, I was going to commission the biggest water park that is Sunrise and it was in the same area. So, I commissioned the water park which was on a Friday and on the Thursday this same company and their allies went to court stopping me from commissioning the water park project and alligning with the FCT lawyer. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the injunction. I drove from that place, came back and called the general counsel to ask who was handling the case for FCT.”