Timi Frank Urges Tinubu to Halt Wike’s Demolition Drive in FCT
ABUJA/Nigeria: The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and stop the ongoing demolition of homes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), led by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike. Frank alleged that the demolitions disproportionately target the poor and vulnerable and accused Wike of engaging in land grabbing under the guise of urban renewal.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Frank expressed concern over what he described as the minister’s “ill-timed and self-serving actions,” claiming they have caused widespread hardship and tarnished the image of President Tinubu’s administration.
“The minister has continued to cause damage to Mr President’s government by his ill-timed demolitions,” Frank said. “It is alleged that this is a new mode of settlement for Minister Wike. He pretends to be doing this for the benefit of the President, but all his activities in the FCT are for his personal gain.”
Frank accused Wike of revoking more land titles than any of his predecessors and reallocating them to his associates, both within and outside government. “The revoked land is allegedly given almost immediately to his cronies while victims are advised to seek redress in court. He knows, however, that he has compromised the judiciary by granting land and building houses for select judges in the FCT,” Frank alleged.
He further claimed that the minister’s actions have turned the FCT into his “personal estate” without proper consultation with the National Assembly or its Senate committee on the FCT. “All his friends from Rivers State and other parts of the country are beneficiaries of this land grab,” Frank said. “I will expose Wike and his allies, both within and outside government, at the appropriate time.”
Frank, who also serves as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, accused Wike of selling plots of land to fund political battles in Rivers State, rather than addressing pressing issues in the FCT such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, and renewable energy development.
“What he is doing in the FCT is exactly what he did in Rivers State. My advice for him is that the FCT is not Rivers State,” Frank said.
He called on President Tinubu to act decisively, warning that inaction could lead to further damage to the administration’s reputation. “Mr President, one of the reasons you are called ‘T-Pain’ is because of Wike’s insensitivity and harassment of FCT residents. If you fail to relieve him of his duties, you will have yourself to blame,” Frank said
Frank urged Tinubu to take immediate action, describing Wike as irrelevant both in Rivers State and at the national level. “Sack him, and you will see how inconsequential he truly is,” he concluded.
The demolition exercise in the FCT has sparked widespread criticism, with many residents accusing the government of displacing vulnerable populations without providing adequate alternatives. Calls for a more humane and consultative approach to urban development in the capital continue to grow.
