By Kolawole Ojebisi
Mr Garba Shehu, an eminent journalist and spokesperson for former President Muhammadu Buhari has debunked the story making the rounds that a piece of land belonging to his principal in Abuja has been revoked by the Federal Government.
Shehu stressed that Buhari has no personal connection to the revoked land in question in the Federal Capital Territory.
He framed the incident as a “case of misinformation and bureaucratic missteps.” Recall that on Thursday it was reported that there was a sweeping decision by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to revoke land titles belonging to several high-profile individuals, including former President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-Chief Justice of Nigeria Walter Onnoghen, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, and about 760 others.
However, a Thursday statement titled “Nothing Like Loss of Buhari Land in Abuja” issued by Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, refuted claims that the former president’s personal land was affected.
“As with anything Buhari—and there is no surprise in this at all—there is a lot of buzz in the media on the reported seizure of a piece of land by the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, FCTA, allegedly belonging to the former president Muhammadu Buhari,” the statement began.
Shehu clarified that the land in question is registered under the Muhammadu Buhari Foundation and not under Buhari’s name.
“The Foundation was itself floated by some utilitarian individuals around him who, it must be said, went about it in a lawful manner with the support of a number of well-meaning persons,” Shehu explained.
Despite these lawful beginnings, the Foundation faced challenges with the FCT’s land department, he noted.
“They ran into a roadblock in the land department of the FCDA, which handed them an outrageous bill for the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, very high in cost that did not at all compare with the bills given to similar organisations,” Shehu noted, suggesting the possibility of either an error or deliberate obstruction.
Shehu also addressed Buhari’s personal history with land allocation during his presidency.
“As a person, the former president has a plot of land to his name in Abuja. When he and his cabinet members were invited to fill the forms and obtain land during his tenure in office, he returned the form without filling it, saying that he already had a plot of land in the FCT, that those who did not have should be given. He, therefore, turned down the offer,” the statement added.
In a pointed conclusion, Shehu urged critics to “get their facts right” and avoid dragging Buhari’s name into the controversy.
