Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has refuted allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the revocation of its land title in Abuja was a ploy to suppress opposition.
Wike made the statement during a visit by officials of the Body of Benchers in Abuja on Friday, emphasizing that the revocation was due to the PDP’s failure to pay the mandatory ground rent for over 10 years.
He noted that despite generating billions of naira through the sale of party forms, the PDP had not paid the N7.6 million ground rent for its land title in the Central Area, where it was constructing its National Secretariat.
Wike also revealed that the Wadata Plaza, where the PDP’s National Secretariat was located, was not registered as a property of the party but was instead registered under a Senator residing in Abuja.
The minister emphasized that the land revocation was not peculiar to the PDP, as other institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had also had their land titles revoked for non-payment of ground rent.
Wike had approved the revocation of 4,794 land titles on March 17, 2025, due to non-payment of ground rent for over 10 years, affecting individuals, corporate organizations, and government institutions.
