By Nurudeen Shotayo

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has declared that his children are well within their constitutional right to own land in Nigeria.

Wike, who spoke at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, July 3, 2025, defended his children's rights as Nigerian citizens to own land, provided due process is followed.

“Assuming, though not conceding, my children applied for land. Are they not citizens? Are they Ghanaians? Even if they applied, are they not entitled because I’m minister?,” the FCT Minister asked.

Wike denies allotting land to his sons

Recent reports claimed that Wike approved a piece of land measuring 2,082 hectares (or 40,000 plots) for his son, Joaquin Wike, under suspicious circumstances.

The report also quoted two unnamed officials from the minister's office who allegedly confirmed that the land approvals were far-reaching and systemic enough to constitute illicit self-dealing.

A follow-up report claimed that the minister also allocated land to another of his sons in the FCT.

However, Wike denied the allegations, stating that he never allocated hectares of land in Maitama and Asokoro to his sons.

The Minister claimed that the accusations originated from Adamawa State, pointing accusing fingers at an unnamed individual for orchestrating a smear campaign to undermine his leadership.

“First, calculate land in Maitama and Asokoro and tell me where you’d get 2000 hectares of land. And I know where it is coming from. It is from Adamawa state. I am aware,” he said.

The former Rivers State Governor challenged the credibility of the claims, questioning where such vast land could be found in Maitama and Asokoro, which happened to be two of Abuja’s most developed districts.

“The whole thing is rubbish. Where in Maitama and Asokoro can you find 2,000 hectares? Bring the documents, bring empirical evidence,” he said.