President Bola Tinubu has declared Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as the “landlord of Abuja”.

Tinubu said this on Sunday, August 27, when he declared open the annual General Conference (AGC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held in Abuja.

President Tinubu asked Wike not to give him free land if he makes such request.

He, however, asked Wike to deliver the Abuja metroline for the good of the city.

“I want to ride on your metroline. If I ask for free land, do not give me. But deliver the metroline for the good of the greatest number of Nigerians,” Tinubu said.

Recall that Wike had vowed to demolish all illegal buildings and structures in the territory as part of efforts to restore the Abuja master plan.

He stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday to announce the short, medium, and long-term plans to overhaul the FCT and reposition it among the best cities in the world.

The minister said: “It is not going to be business as usual. Those distorting Abuja Master Plan: if you build where you are not supposed to, the building will go down.

“If you build on a green area, sorry, it will go down. Those who were allocated land and refused to develop them, we will revoke such lands and re-allocate them to those who are ready to develop them.↳

“Those who don’t pay ground rent, we will not notify them to do so, but I will not be tired of signing revocation notices.

“Uncompleted buildings that have become a haven for criminals will be reclaimed by the government and put them to good use.”