- Wike’s Action Direct Affront To PDP, He’s Crossed ‘The Red Line’ –George
- Blame PDP’s Elders Not Me; They Failed To Pay Ground Rent For 28 Years — Wike
By Kolawole Ojebisi
Chief Olabode George, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, have clashed over the recent land revocation ordered by the latter.
George fired the first salvo on Friday during an interview with Arise Television over the controversial matter.
“I’m saying he (referring to Wike) has crossed the red line. Once you cross the red line, what are you looking for? So what is he still doing there then?” George said.
He expressed disbelief at Wike’s decision, likening it to taking over one’s “father’s house” and questioning Wike’s loyalty to the PDP. George stressed that the party leaders must urgently convene to address the situation.
“The party has to meet. We have to meet the leaders and the members of the board of trustees. We own the party in trust for the members of the party,” he said.
He described Wike’s move as a direct affront to the party and warned that PDP leaders would be acting irresponsibly if they failed to take action.
However, on Saturday, Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media to Wike, reacted to George’s subtle jab at his principal
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.
He alleged 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 claimed that the PDP failed to pay N7.6 million in ground rent for 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.
Wike maintained 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 George to seek accurate information before making public statements, insisting that Wike was only enforcing the law without bias.
