Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has maintained that an Abuja property owned by former Peoples Democratic Party Deputy National Chairman, Chief Bode George, was acquired with funds linked to Rivers State.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Olayinka said the minister stood by his earlier allegation, stressing that the controversy centred on the source of the funds used to purchase the property rather than the identity of the seller or the agent involved in the transaction.
According to him, Wike’s position on the matter remains unchanged.
“Wike was clear. He said Bode George’s Abuja house was acquired with funds from Rivers State, and he stands by this.
Bode George said he bought the property from a private owner through an agent. That is not the issue,” Olayinka said.
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He insisted that the former military governor should address the allegation directly.
“What he said was that the money with which the property was acquired came from Rivers State, and this is the question Bode George must answer,” he added.
Olayinka also criticised George for what he described as repeated attacks against the minister, arguing that the elder statesman should demonstrate greater restraint in public engagements.
The presidential aide further questioned the PDP’s electoral performance in Lagos State under George’s leadership, noting that the party had struggled to record significant victories since 1999.
He also revisited George’s previous remarks on President Bola Tinubu’s political ambitions, recalling several occasions on which the PDP chieftain allegedly vowed to leave the country if Tinubu eventually became president.
According to Olayinka, George’s failure to fulfil those promises had raised questions about his credibility.
The latest exchange comes amid an escalating war of words between both camps following Wike’s allegations regarding the ownership of the Abuja property.