Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has raised the alarm over the real targets of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in his ongoing wave of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) revocations in Abuja.
Frank in a statement in Abuja described the alleged revocations of C of Os belonging to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume and Speaker of the House of Representatives, among others, as a Nollywood Script designed to intimidate members of the opposition who are Wike’s real targets.
He said: “We have intelligence at our disposal that the list of land allottees whose C of O have purportedly been revoked by Wike is part of his grand strategy to harass and intimidate members of opposition political parties and others that may want to contest against President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
“Already Buhari has denied owning the land attached to his name which was purportedly revoked by Wike while Abbas has said he is not indebted to the FCTA.
“Every sane Nigerian knows that Wike as a minister in Tinubu’s administration dare not revoke lands belonging to key officials in this administration listed by Wike.
“Therefore Wike is using their names as a cover to deflect the criticism of his land grabbing spree and his demolitions of properties in the FCT that have been targeted at poor and innocent Nigerians.”
Recall that Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, the wife of a late military officer, Ikponmwosa Paul-Ogbebor, owner of Paulosa Nigeria Limited had accused Wike of granting approval for the Right of Occupancy (R of O) and Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of their estate land to one Saravera Nigeria Limited – a company allegedly under the control of the House of Representatives Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, a known ally of the minister.
He challenged Wike to show proof that top All Progressives Congress (APC) members who are political office holders contained in the list he published actually owned lands said to have been revoked.
He called on members of opposition political parties who intend to run against Tinubu in 2027 and those that have opposed Wike’s shenanigans in Rivers State to brace up for Wike’s vendetta, persecution and oppression by way of revocation of their land titles in FCT.
He said: “Wike is playing politics with the lives and emotions of Nigerians. He has marked out members of the opposition whose lands and houses he intends to seize.
“What he is doing in FCT is not different from what he did in Rivers State as Governor where he revoked C of O of lands of his political opponents and demolished their property,” he said.
He declared that the next wave of land seizures by the minister would be targeted at members of the opposition who are either against Tinubu or Wike.
He is poised to revoke their land titles and demolish their structures as a payback for backing Fubara against him in Rivers.
Frank who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, accused Tinubu of giving Wike the unrestrained powers to carry out these egregious and anti-people actions and warned that the President should be careful least the Minister gives him the ‘Jonathan treatment.’
“This is the same way he acted sycophantically to curry ex-President Jonathan’s favours and later betrayed him. If care is not taken Tinubu would be Wike’s next victim of subterfuge because betrayal is written in his DNA.
“He is using his powers as a minister to witch-hunt all those he believed to have worked against his interest, especially in the PDP, in 2023 and those he thinks are opposed to him currently in the fight between him and Governor Fubara in Rivers State.
“Wike is very bitter at the moment because he has lost Rivers State that would have been his cash cow to Governor Fubara and that is one of the reasons he meting out vendetta against perceived opponents,” he said.
