Senior Special Assistant on Publicity and Communications to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lere Olayinka, has defended Minister Nyesom Wike over his recent confrontation with military personnel, stating that the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (retd.), was “scammed” in a controversial land deal.
Olayinka made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, clarifying the circumstances surrounding the disputed plot that led to the viral clash between Wike and naval officers. “Let’s go back to how we got to that level,” Olayinka began. “That particular land was allocated to a company in 2007, Santos Estate Limited, for park and recreation. Let me say this again, allocated in 2007 for park and recreation. The company did not do anything on the land because that place is a parkway, it’s a walkway, it’s a road corridor. You don’t build there.”
He explained that in 2022, the company sought approval to change the land’s purpose from recreational to commercial use. “Then in 2022, the company wrote to the FCTA, the minister, oh, I want approval from you to convert the purpose to commercial from park to build park. You know what park is, not permanent structures. Probably in anticipation of the minister’s approval for conversion, the man decided to partition the land, a land allocated to him for park and recreation. He now partitioned the land and sold it to people, including the former Chief of Naval Staff,” he said.
Describing the retired officer as a victim, Olayinka added, “And that is why I want to say that the former Chief of Naval Staff was scammed. He was scammed. And he has realized that he was scammed. Instead of him to now come out and seek help, he resorted to use military might.” He further stated that the FCT Administration had, in 2022, declined the company’s request for a change of land use. “Now, in 2022, the Minister of FCT declined that request, did not grant the request for change of land use made by that company. That is where it ended, that he had already sold the land to people, probably giving them the impression that the land use will change. Wike was not the minister then,” he clarified.
Olayinka emphasized that the disputed plot has since been designated for government and corporate buildings. “That particular portion has now been designated for the purpose of… if you know Abuja very well, you know how Mabushi is. That is where you have the Ministry of Works and Environment. That portion of the land, that pathway, is for public buildings and corporate buildings, not residential. Meaning that you cannot build a residential house there,” he explained.
He concluded by asserting that the retired naval chief lacked legal ownership. “As of today, Vice Admiral Gambo does not have a document, a title document, showing that he owns the land. He does not own the land,” Olayinka said. “Now, assuming we’re not conceding that he has title documents and he owns the land, before you begin development of a land, there are processes you must pass through. One of such processes is to have a building plan showing what you want to put on the land and take your building plan to development control. The question Nigerians should ask Vice Admiral Gambo is, did he take his building plan on that land to development control? And did development control approve the building plan?” View, More,
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