A member of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Board of Trustees, Bode George, has expressed dismay over the sealing of the PDP’s national secretariat by the Federal Capital Territory Administration due to unpaid ground rent.

George, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, said it was painful that the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, under whose authority the FCTA carried out the action, is a member of the PDP.

Officials of the FCTA sealed the PDP headquarters, also known as Wadata Plaza, in Abuja on Monday during the enforcement of the revocation of 4,794 properties for non-payment of ground rent, which ranged from 10 to 43 years.

Properties owned by government institutions, corporate organisations, and individuals were also affected.

Defaulters were later granted a 14-day grace period to settle their ground rents, along with associated penalties, following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.

However, the PDP chieftain said Wike should have paid the debt as a member of the PDP to show his loyalty to the party and asked for a refund.

He said, “We were told we had not paid ₦7 million and so, we defaulted on the ground rent. The painful part of it is that the minister is also a member of our party. They waited until the day we were to hold our NEC meeting to shut down the place.

“Talking as an African, culturally, let us look at it as his father’s house where he grew up, where he went to school and became a public personality. What do you do to pay back that family?”

“What is ₦7 million? He should have just said to them, ‘Okay, ₦7 million, I’ll pay from my pocket. Take the receipt back to the party’s secretariat. You see, you people are foolish.

“‘I’m completely committed to this house; I am completely loyal to this house. I will not decimate it. This is the receipt, give me back my money.’ That is what you call a true son of that family,” he added.

He said Wike was a major beneficiary of the PDP, having been allowed to serve in various political positions, and therefore should have demonstrated that he was a true party man.

“I call him (Wike) my political son. He was, on his first political outing, elected on the platform of this party as a local government chairman. Later, he became Chief of Staff to an elected governor of this party, then (former) President (Goodluck Jonathan) appointed him as a minister of state for education in our party, then became a governor for eight years on the platform of this party,” he added.

‘APC Owes Millions’

However, George said the PDP was not the only party owing ground rent, as the ruling All Progressives Congress was also indebted.

He said, “I was shell-shocked and I can tell you publicly now that whatever building that the APC is holding in Abuja, if you go to that house, you will find out that they are owing millions. So, why select?

He also said the PDP made a mistake by failing to meets its financial obligation.

“When you are running a political organisation, you have the good, the bad, the ugly, and all sorts of characters are there, and people are bound to make mistakes,” he added.