A fresh twist has emerged in the tense standoff between the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and retired Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, with a top FCT official claiming that the former chief of Naval staff was a victim of land scams.
The revelation came from Lere Olayinka, the senior special assistant to the minister on Public Communications and Social Media, during an appearance on Channels Television's 'Sunrise Daily' on Wednesday.
The dispute erupted on Tuesday when the minister personally led a task force to halt an alleged illegal development on a plot of land in the Gaduwa district, belonging to the retired Admiral.
The operation was thwarted by armed naval officers who blocked the entrance with a truck, preventing the minister's team from accessing the site.
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The military officers stated they were acting on orders from above, leading to a dramatic confrontation.
In his televised comments, Olayinka detailed the history of the controversial land, alleging it was at the centre of a fraudulent scheme.
"That particular land was allocated to a company in 2007, Santos Estate Limited, for park and recreation.
"The company did not do anything on the land because that place is a park, a walkway, a road corridor. You do not build there," he said.
He explained that in 2022, the company applied to the FCTA to convert the land's purpose from park and recreation to commercial use, claiming the company acted prematurely.
"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. And that is why I want to say that the Chief of Naval Staff was scammed. He was scammed," he said.
Olayinka further revealed that the request for a change of land use was ultimately declined by the FCT minister in 2022, a time when Wike was not in office.
"That was where it ended. After selling land allocated to you for park and recreation, for people to build a house, who should the Chief of Naval Staff go and hold?
"The person who is scamming him or the government? He chose not to hold the person who scammed him," he said.
The minister's aide clarified that the area has now been redesignated for public and corporate buildings, not residential purposes.
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