Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has revoked plots of land belonging to former President, Muhammadu Buhari; House of Representatives Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, and 759 others.

But in a related development, Buhari yesterday denied ownership of a piece of land purportedly allocated to him by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA) in Abuja.

The revocation order, according to an advertorial placed in national dailies, became imperative because of the failure of the allottees of plots of land in Maitama 11, Abuja to make payment for their Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) bills after the expiration of grace period granted by the minister.

The revocation order, which was also confirmed by Wike’s Special Adviser on Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, stated that the allottees’ Right of Occupancy (RO) to the land/ property had been withdrawn, pursuant to the Provisions of Section 28 of the Land Use Act of 1978 for contravention of the terms of grant, which obligated the title/interest holders to settle all bills.

Wike has also threatened to revoke plots belonging to the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda; former presidents of the Senate, Iyorchia Ayu and Ameh Ebute; the Chief Whip of the Senate, Tahir Monguno; and 610 others for outstanding fees owed to the FCTA for certificate of occupancy not paid within two weeks.

The FCT minister had threatened to revoke or demolish property, which were found to be in breach of extant rules and laws. The minister, who had suffered criticisms for embarking on a widespread demolition of houses in Abuja, was last week advised by the Senate to halt demolition pending investigation and determination of a petition before it.

The resolution of the Senate emerged from the adoption of a motion raised by Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the FCT Senatorial District. Kingibe had expressed concerns about the large-scale demolition of structures in Abuja, which she claimed were often in disregard of due process and inflicted significant hardship on residents.

But Wike, who decried the existence of people he called land grabbers in Abuja declared: “Some of us have come to put our feet down. Let heaven fall. It is even better that heaven comes down now so that I will not be fasting again to go to heaven. We will stop anybody who thinks they can obtain government land without formal approval. We will not look at your face.

“If you like, you can be a civil rights activist. If you like, you can be a television talker. What is wrong is wrong.

“No amount of blackmail can stop us. People take government property without approval, without document. I have told people that there was a government yesterday that did not take any step does not mean that another government will come today and will not take steps.”

But debunking the reports, the former President said he is “not the owner of the said plot of the land which is allocated in the name a “Muhammadu Buhari Foundation.”

In a statement issued by his Media aide, Garba Shehu, and made available to The Guardian in Abuja, the former President said he turned down the offer by the administration when it was brought to him.

The media aide further explained that, “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.”

He urged “all those jumping up and down in the digital space talking about the rightfulness or the lack of it on the reported seizure of Buhari’s land in Abuja to get their facts right, and stop dragging down the name of the former president.”

Giving further insight, Shehu said: “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.

“But 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.”