Mr. Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Publicity and Communications to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended his principal following the viral confrontation with a naval officer in Abuja on Tuesday.
Olayinka explained that the altercation was a result of a land dispute tied to an alleged scam that deceived a former naval chief.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Olayinka clarified that the contested land was originally allocated in 2007 for park and recreation use — not for residential or commercial purposes.
“That particular land was allocated to a company in 2007, Santos Estate Limited, for park and recreation,” he said. “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 went on to reveal that in 2022, the company requested a change in land use from park to commercial, but the FCT Administration turned down the application.
“In 2022, the minister of FCT declined that request. Wike was not the minister then,” Olayinka clarified.
Despite the rejection, he alleged that the company went ahead to divide and sell the land to private buyers, including a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (retd).
“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 explained. “He now partitioned the land and sold it to people, including the former Chief of Naval Staff.”
Olayinka, however, faulted the retired naval officer’s reaction, claiming he tried to use his military background to assert ownership of the property.
“That is why I want to say that the Chief of Naval Staff was scammed. He has realised that he was scammed. Instead of him to now come out and seek help, he resorted to use military might,” he stated.
“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’s claiming or the government? He chose not to hold the person who’s scammed, the company who’s scammed,” he added.
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According to Olayinka, the property is located in the Mabushi district, which is reserved for public and corporate buildings — not residential developments.
“Again, that particular portion has now been designated for the purpose of, you know, if you know Abuja very well, you know how Mabushi is. That is where you have Ministry of Works environment. That portion of the land, that pathway is for public buildings and corporate buildings, not residential, meaning that you cannot build residential house there,” he said.
He also asserted that Gambo lacked any legitimate title or approved building plan for the land.
“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 declared.
The minister’s aide further argued that even if Gambo claimed ownership, he failed to follow the proper procedures required before beginning any development.
“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 you take your building plan to the development control,” he explained.
“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?” he queried.
Olayinka’s remarks came after a viral video showed Minister Wike engaging in a heated exchange with naval personnel stationed at the disputed site, a development that has since triggered national debate over land allocation, civil-military relations, and power abuse in the Federal Capital Territory.