The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has debunked the Igbo ethnic targeting allegations made by an Abuja property developer, Nicholas Ukachukwu.
Ukachukwu had said last week that Wike demolished buildings on his 240 hectare property despite two court orders restraining the FCT from doing so.
The developer also alleged that Wike carried out the action and said “how can this land be given to an Igbo man”
On a live media briefing on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Wike called out Ukachukwu for spreading disinformation about him and the FCT. The Minister explained that the land in question was in dispute and he had many petitions from different parties claiming to own the land. He said he called for a meeting with all the parties where a stay on development was agreed.
Wike claimed, Ukachukwu went behind the agreement to connive with FCT and court officials to obtain an order which asked the FCT to return papers to Ukachukwu. Wike said the order did not confer ownership of the land on Ukachukwu. He further explained that Ukachukwu went ahead and started selling the land despite not having ownership of the land.
Wike said he was ready for the types of Ukachukwu who thinks this was “PDP Anambra” where they procure court judgements in their pockets as a strategy.
When asked by the media about the two court orders, Wike retorted back and asked if any of them had seen the court order?
He accused Ukachukwu of using his tribe as a shield against his illegal activities. He said the likes of Ukachukwu induce FCT officials to allocate land on the pretext of development, only for them to turn around and start selling the land to members of the public, with no benefits to the FCT.
The Minister also further stated that he had demolished properties severally in the past, belonging to owners from different ethnic groups, and no one had said he was doing so because the owner was a “Yoruba man” or “Hausa man”.
