Wike reiterated his commitment to the success of the Tinubu administration even as he explained that the quest for justice was the main reason he and four other governors otherwise known as G5 Governors supported Tinubu’s presidential ambition.

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According to the minister, good character should never be compromised on the altar of politics.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, he pointed out that having worked for the emergence of Tinubu as president, and having been made minister of the FCT, nothing would make him contest against the President in 2027.

“Tinubu made me the FCT minister and I won’t allow anybody to crumble our political structure. No!

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“Tinubu made me minister; people don’t understand; I have character. What will happen in 2027? I stood and I said I’m not going to support injustice. I was threatened that they would do this and that to me. They tried many options including using major Generals,” he disclosed.

Asked for an update on his face-off with Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State, Wike, who initially said he didn’t want to talk about the matter, declared: “Give a man power and money; that is when you will know the person. If you have not given a man power and money, don’t say you know the person.

“He may be your friend; he may be your son, sister or mother or father. I don’t want to go into that.”

He lamented that Fubara could seek to destroy the structure, which produced him as governor, just within three months of his emergence as governor.

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“In three months, it is sad for someone to scatter a political structure that supported and brought you up. You know what is painful?  All these allegations, I smile. Who and who sat with him. In all your doings be grateful in your life no matter the circumstance. Nobody who is a gentleman and a politician will support this kind of thing,” he said.

On the new requirements for acquisition of land in the FCT, particularly the introduction of National Identity Number (NIN) and Biometric Verification Number (BVN) to Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), the minister said the new features were for security and revenue generation.

Wike also noted that existing landowners in the capital must get recertification to incorporate these new features.

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“There are a lot of discrepancies, a lot of cloning of C-of-Os. So, we have come up with an idea that every allottee who applies for a C-of-O must supply his NIN. This is one of the features we are going to put in the new C-of-O.

“If a corporate body doesn’t have an NIN and they have a property, they must put their BVN. So many people have not registered, and this will make them go and re-register,” he said.

On the issue of existing landlords with C-of-Os, Wike stated that they would only be required to pay a nominal fee for recertification.

“For everyone who has a C-of-O, they will come for a recertification, so that we can incorporate the NIN or BVN.

“Those who had a C-of-O before don’t need to pay money again; the highest they can pay is N50,000 and corporate bodies will pay N100,000. It helps in terms of security; it also helps to improve our revenue generation. There are people who own seven properties, so this will identify them so they can pay taxes,” he noted.

Guardian