I just bought a new bike off the internet 85% assembled (Vogue Elite RB Men's 3 gear 28 inch). One part I have to assemble myself is putting the front wheel on. However the forks seem too narrow to go around the wheel, including the nut holding on the Shimano rollerbrake, see first picture with just a nut on the axle:

https (colon slash slash) photos.app.goo.gl (slash) xd8ykYMEw175e7D96

I have tried pulling the forks apart but it will just not fit around this nut on the left side, and a rubber washer sitting over a nut on the right side.

If I take off this nut on the left side, I can fit the fork inside it, but that seems wrong to me, especially given this nut is only meant to be at 15-20 Nm (hand tight?) and presumably is part of how the brake works.

So the best I can do is this on the left side (note the fork is on the inside of all nuts):

https (colon slash slash) photos.app.goo.gl (slash) 1oXFXqajUs9YqQK78

and this on the right side (note the outermost black painted metal is for a basket, the fork is on the inside):

https (colon slash slash) photos.app.goo.gl (slash) SmMJxENgU1RbXah58

Should I try to use more force to pull apart the forks, and if so how, or is the setup above OK (will the brakes work correctly or will they be damaged?), or is there no obvious solution?

Any help appreciated. This bike is for my son's new school and he starts on Tuesday this week, so I'd really appreciate getting this fixed soon...

Thanks. (I've added photos via pseudo-links above to avoid the restriction not to add photos or links -- thanks Iride01!)