Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike has revealed how the Central Bank of Nigeria once pleaded with him over land revocation, but he insisted on payment first before taking any action.
Speaking in an interview shared by Symfoni TV, Wike justified the revocation of the land title of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Central Area, Abuja. He lamented how people and institutions expected the government to provide infrastructure without fulfilling their financial obligations. He stated that tribal and political sentiments should be set aside, and bringing in his experience with the Central Bank of Nigeria, he pointed that no institution should be favored when executive actions are taken in the country.
Wike said, “I revoked it. Central Bank came begging. I said, ‘Okay, what I need is money. Go and pay. If you pay, I will bring it back.”
Wike pointed out that the move to revoke the land title of the Peoples Democratic Party until the debts were paid was not a subtle move to stifle the opposition, but a necessary step to enable the FCT to carry about its capital projects. He noted that the party raked in billions selling party forms but failed to pay the basic fees.
He said, “You are collecting money for sale of forms, you make 12, 13, 20 billion but go and pay for something 7 million naira, they won’t pay.”