The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has strongly denied allegations that he used his office to allocate vast parcels of land totaling over 3,800 hectares to his sons through companies such as JOAQ Farms and Estates Limited and Jordan Farms and Estates Limited. The claims, which surfaced in various media reports, suggested that the land—purportedly in prime Abuja districts like Maitama and Asokoro—was worth billions of dollars.
Wike dismissed the allegations as baseless and part of a smear campaign orchestrated by unnamed individuals. He challenged the credibility of the reports, pointing out the implausibility of finding such large tracts of land in highly developed areas like Maitama and Asokoro. “First, calculate land in Maitama and Asokoro and tell me where you’d get 2,000 hectares of land. And I know where it is coming from. It is from Adamawa state. I am aware,” Wike stated.
His Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, also refuted the claims, describing the reports as “falsehoods” from “quack journalists.” Olayinka clarified that JOAQ Farms and Estates Limited did receive a land allocation, but strictly for agricultural purposes in Bwari Area Council, far from the highbrow districts mentioned. He emphasized that neither Wike nor his children have been allocated any land in Maitama or Asokoro.
Regarding Jordan Farms and Estates Limited, Olayinka stated that although the company received land allocations, none of the minister’s children are directors or owners of the company. He urged the public to separate speculation from facts and dismissed the insinuation that the companies belong to Wike’s sons.
Wike further defended his children’s constitutional right to own land in Nigeria, stating, “Assuming, though not conceding, my children applied for land. Are they not citizens? Are they Ghanaians? Even if they applied, are they not entitled because I’m a minister?”
The minister’s office insists that all land allocations followed due process and that no preferential treatment was given. The controversy has sparked public debate, but Wike’s camp maintains that the allegations are politically motivated attempts to tarnish his reputation.
