Former President Muhammadu Buhari, through his aide, has reacted to the recent revocation of lands by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, clarifying that the affected land does not belong to him.
The New Daily Prime earlier reported that parcels of land linked to Buhari, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and others, were seized due to non-payment for Certificates of Occupancy (C of O).
In a statement released today, Garba Shehu, Buhari’s aide, stated that the land in question is not owned by the former president.
He noted that the plot was allocated in the name of the “Muhammadu Buhari Foundation” and not to Buhari personally.
“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 former President Muhammadu Buhari”, he said.
Shehu stated that the Foundation was established by some practical-minded individuals around him who, he emphasised, followed lawful procedures with the backing of several well-meaning supporters.
He highlighted that the Foundation faced a major hurdle in the FCDA’s land department, which issued them an excessively high bill for the certificate of occupancy—far greater than what was charged to similar organisations.
“It may have been that this was not erroneous, but a deliberate mistake, making the revocation of the land no surprise to anyone.
“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.”
Shehu encouraged the public to seek accurate information and cautioned against spreading what he described as falsehoods in the digital space.
