Lere Olayinka, senior special assistant to public communications and new media for federal capital territorial minister Nyesom Wike, revealed that it is widely believed that Wadata Plaza does not actually belong to the party.
Olayinka made this revelation when she spoke on Arise TV Morning performance Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
“Wadata is not part of the PDP; most members don’t know. I didn’t know until two weeks ago. Senator Sama’ila Mamman owns Wadata Plaza,” Olayinka said.
Wadata Plaza is located in Wuse 5 district of Abuja and has long been regarded as the headquarters of the PDP. However, Olayinka revealed that the property belongs to Senator Samala Mamman, former Senate leader, and that the PDP never completed the process of buying it.
Recently, the FCT Minister revoked the land title of Wadata Plaza and centered on the title of the PDP’s unfinished national secretariat, citing ground rent. The move was strongly condemned by PDP leaders, who believed that the withdrawal was an attempt by President Bora Tinub’s administration to stifle the opposition’s political motivation.
To defend this decision, Olayinka explained that PDP failed to meet its financial obligations when it tried to purchase Wadata Plaza in 2005.
“The PDP purchased the property from Senator Samaila in 2005 and since then they wrote to FCT Minister Malam El-Rufai, then a member of the PDP, saying we are buying the property and asking for the minister’s consent, which is normal when you buy the property,” Olayinka said.
He further pointed out that then-FCT minister Nasir El-Rufai responded to the PDP, insisting that the party’s fees were 26.9 million n26.9 million to close the deal.
“Vincent Ogbulafor, the chairman of the PDP at the time, wrote to the FCT minister, saying that there was too much money. Imagine the PDP at the time, when the party said it did not have 26 million N 26 million guilds, and El-Rufai insisted that the PDP had to do the right thing, just like Wike now, Wike was doing it.”
With the cancellation of the land champion, Olayinka clarified that the property now belongs entirely to Senator Samaila Mamman.
