The Senior Special Adviser to the FCT Minister on Public Communication and Social Media, Olarere Olayinka, has refuted allegations of land grabbing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), urging claimants to provide verifiable evidence of land ownership.
This response comes after Paullosa Nigeria Limited, a construction company, alleged foul play over a demolition notice issued by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) for its estate in Life Camp, Abuja. The company claimed it had complied with some demands, including paying ₦10 million for a Right of Occupancy (R-of-O), yet received a quit notice before the document was issued.
The controversy escalated when Vincent Martins Otse, a social media critic known as VeryDarkMan, accused the FCT Minister of reallocating the estate land to Saravera Nigeria Limited and the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda. Otse alleged that Saravera had ties to the minister’s business interests in Port Harcourt.
Olayinka addressed the matter in a statement on Wednesday, revealing that the land in question, Plot No. 2241 in Gwarimpa District, was initially granted to Paullosa Nigeria Limited on a temporary R-of-O basis in 1984. According to him, the company occupied the land for 36 years without obtaining approval for its structures and later applied for a statutory R-of-O in 2020.
The application was approved in February 2023, subject to conditions, including payments totaling over ₦57 million for ground rent, premium fees, and arrears dating back to 1984. However, Olayinka claimed the company failed to meet these conditions within 20 months, leading to the revocation of the approval in October 2024.
“Paullosa Nigeria Limited never at any time owned the land,” the statement read. “For 36 years, the company occupied the land, built permanent structures on it, and rented them out without government approval.”
The SSA criticized social media activists for amplifying unverified claims, urging them to investigate thoroughly before drawing conclusions.
“My advice to our social media emergency human rights advocates is that they should always endeavour to investigate claims by whoever is seeking their service,” Olayinka said. “If the person who took his time to do that video had investigated further, he would have been well informed and not used to mislead the public.”
Olayinka also reiterated that the FCTA’s actions adhered to legal procedures, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to transparency and due process in handling land allocations and revocations.
The dispute underscores ongoing tensions over land use and ownership in Abuja, where rapid urbanization has intensified competition for prime real estate.
