Former President Muhammadu Buhari once rejected an offer of land in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during his tenure.
Buhari’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.
He was reacting to reports that a piece of land belonging to the former president was seized by the FCT authorities.
” As a person, the former president has a plot of land to his name in Abuja,” he said.
Shehu said Buhari rejected the offer of land when he and his cabinet members were invited to fill forms for allocation.
He said the former president had insisted that he already had land in the FCT, adding it should be given to those who did not have.
” President Buhari is personally not the owner of the said plot of land which is allocated in the name of “Muhammadu Buhari Foundation,” he stated.
Shehu said the foundation was itself floated lawfully by some ‘utilitarian individuals’ around Buhari.
The foundation, he added, was supported by some well-meaning persons.
He said the promoters of the foundation, however, ran into a ” roadblock” when the Federal Capital Development Authority gave them an ” outrageous” bill for the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy.
Shehu said the bill did not compare with the bills given to similar organisations.
“It may have been that this was not erroneous, but a deliberate mistake, making the revocation of land as no surprise to anyone,” he said.
He urged those engaging in speculation on social media to ” get their facts right and stop dragging down the name of the former president.”