ABUJA, Nigeria — Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has dismissed as false a report claiming Wike allocated 2,082 hectares of land worth $3.6 billion to his son, Joaquin Wike.
The report, published Thursday, June 26, 2025, and widely circulated on social media, alleged that the lands — estimated at over 40,000 plots — were located in upscale districts of Abuja, including Maitama, Asokoro, and Guzape.
The report cited official documents and unnamed sources, claiming that plots measuring over seven hectares in Maitama and Asokoro alone were recently valued between $1.28 million and $1.4 million.
The allegations quickly drew public attention, with Wike trending at the top of social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In a statement issued on Thursday, June 26, 2025, Olayinka described the publication as “another malicious falsehood” aimed at discrediting the minister.
He acknowledged the constitutional right of Wike and his family to own land, but denied that any had been allocated to his children.
“My attention has been drawn to yet another malicious falsehood coming from the same elements whose job is to defame and malign the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike,” Olayinka stated.
“Even though it is the right of the minister and members of his family, both immediate and extended, to own lands anywhere in Nigeria, including the FCT, provided all necessary conditions are met, no land has been allocated to any of his children.”
Olayinka said the only document referenced in the report — a Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) issued to JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited — pertained to agricultural land located in Bwari, a local government area on the outskirts of the capital city.
“So what’s wrong with a farmer getting land allocation strictly for agriculture?” he asked.
“In Asokoro and Maitama of today, where can the FCT minister see 2,082 hectares of land to allocate to anyone?”
The aide urged the public to disregard what he termed deliberate misinformation, suggesting the report was part of a sustained campaign to tarnish the minister’s reputation.
