Human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has slammed the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, asking him to “stop grabbing people’s land” and giving them to his cronies.
Adeyanju and Wike had engaged in a war of words following the demolition of a community by the FCT Joint Task Force and subsequently rendering of thousands of Abuja residents homeless.
Adeyanju stated this on Friday during a press conference in Abuja, while replying to the comment of the minister who had earlier called him “a jobless man” for leading a protest against the demolition in the community.
But Adeyanju, who knocked the Minister, said his only crime was challenging Wike over his untoward action, describing the minister as someone who hated constructive criticism.
The human rights lawyer vowed not to stop criticising the minister whenever the minister does what is not right and legal; he said the minister is attracting criticisms for “some of his bad policies, his anti-people policy in the FCT and issues around land grabbing of poor people’s homes and giving them to his friends, which he admitted in his reply.
“He has not faulted us on the allegations we raised. Rather he has said yes, that he is giving the land that he is grabbing from poor people to his friends, but that, should he give the land to his enemies?
“These are the kinds of people that are ruling in our country, people that should be in jail for corruption, for stealing, for electoral fraud. They are the ones who want to give lectures on morality.”
He admitted that he went to solicit support from Wike then as governor of oil-rich Rivers State just like he sought the support of other governors, stakeholders, and party top shots dismissing Wike as not being more important than the others.
Adeyanju said, “He allegedly said that I came to him, I begged him to be national public secretary of PDP.
“Everyone knows I resigned from politics eight years ago. And that event that he’s talking about happened before I resigned from politics. Since my decision on politics, I have been jailed, I have been harassed, I have been beaten on the street.”
While revealing that “We have maintained communications with him,” the activist further said, “Many times when I criticised him, he called me and said he did not want friendship with me again. He does not like to be criticised.”
He said, “I didn’t meet only Wike. I met him when I was still active in politics. I met every governor of the PDP then. I’ve never seen where consultation with party leaders is tagged begging.”
The lawyer explained that Wike “never said to my face that he would not support me” contrary to what the minister said on Thursday that he said no when he was approached.
“In fact, when I was actively in politics, he told me twice (that he would support me), he supported me twice.”
He added, “Assuming without conceding that I even went and begged him, which is false, should he call the press conference and start crying eight years later, almost nine years later, that I came to him?
“Every PDP governor then, all PDP stakeholders, I consulted with them.
“I went around all the zones in this country. Both when I wanted to be the deputy publicity secretary, and then when the party zoned the position of the publicity secretary to my zone in the North Central, I still went around.
“Everybody endorsed me. David Mark (Ex-Senate President), and the leaders from the North Central endorsed me. In fact, my state leaders, and state caucus, told everybody running from Kogi State to step down for me,” he said.
He accused Wike of turning against him because he joined others to oppose him for bringing Ali Modu-Sherif (former Borno State governor) and Jimmy Agbaje (former governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos), describing Wike’s action as “selfish” and “personal.”
He noted that after Modu-Sherif “showed him agony, he came back again, and was crying.”
Adeyanju said he indicated an interest in being PDP National Publicity Secretary because the party had zoned the position to his zone, the North Central and wondered why it was an issue.
He boasted that at least Wike “gave background information about me. He kept saying, oh, that young boy, one young boy, one young man. Wike is just 11 years older than me.
“Maybe it’s because Wike is looking older than Tinubu (Bola) and Buhari (Muhammadu) combined. That’s why he now feels he is an old man.
“I don’t know where he got this idea that he’s now an elder statesman from that he is making noise all over the place.
“He said, I’m jobless.
“We employed over 25 people in this place, that is, lawyers and non-lawyers alike. Somebody say that we are jobless. We are not like Wike who has always had his mouth tied to the bottom of our patrimony.
“I have never been elected as a public official or a political appointee. I was a trader. I’ve been a trader for years,” he said.
He said he “resigned because trading is incompatible with legal practice” and he is “doing very well as a lawyer.”
He accused Wike of not doing anything other than being in government, which has enabled him to embark on a looting spree.
“Where is Wike’s second address? Wike does not have his second address.
“His only address is the looting of public resources and public purse.
“Look at the way he’s grabbing land in the FCT all over the place and giving it to his friends. He’s grabbing even parks, stealing people’s parks, and turning it into residential buildings.
“And he expects people not to complain. Whenever you challenge him, he will call you. And there’s nothing I’m saying that I don’t have receipts.
“He does not like to be challenged. He has this god complex.”
