Wike Allocates Over 2,000 Hectares of Abuja Land to Son Through Newly Registered Company

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has allocated over 2,000 hectares of land across Abuja to his son, Joaquin Wike, according to documents obtained by Peoples Gazette.

The allocations, spread across Maitama, Asokoro, Guzape, Gaduwa, Bwari, and Kwaita, were made between October 2024 and May 2025. Officials estimate the total value of the land to be over $3.6 billion, based on recent sales in the affected districts.

The Gazette found that most of the land was assigned to Joaq Farms and Estates Ltd, a company registered on October 10, 2024, in Joaquin Wike’s name. Just a week later, on October 17, the company received 350 hectares through file number 155882 and certificate of occupancy number 0000162.

The company is registered to 13 Thaba Tseka Street, Wuse II, an address linked to Mr Wike and used for several other businesses tied to his family.

Six additional certificates of occupancy were granted to Joaquin on February 25, 2025, under file numbers 159134, 159136, 159137, 159138, 159139, and 159140. As recently as May 30, 2025, Mr Wike signed off on 2.3 hectares in Gaduwa for his son.

Some of the plots were allegedly seized from private families and diplomatic missions, including one previously allocated to the Austrian embassy in the Central Area.

Officials told The Gazette that the minister ignored internal warnings and said he intended to make his children the largest landowners in Abuja.

Despite the scale of these allocations, records show Mr Wike did not pay ground rent, survey fees, or title registration costs, in violation of public service rules outlined in the Nigerian Constitution’s Fifth Schedule.

Multiple agencies under the FCTA, including environmental, broadcasting, and water departments, are reportedly months behind on staff salaries, while Mr Wike continues to expand his family’s real estate holdings.

Presidential aides say concerns about Mr Wike’s conduct have reached the State House, but no action has been taken. “He is a liability to this administration,” one official said. “But dealing with him now could open cracks in the president’s political structure.”

A spokesperson for Mr Wike, Lere Olayinka, said he was unaware of any such developments.

Calls are mounting for a comprehensive investigation into land allocations under Mr Wike’s leadership.