The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has warned event centres and hotels in Abuja against offering their facilities to factions of political parties not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conventions and other political gatherings.
The FCTA said failure to comply with the directive could result in the revocation of the title documents of such properties.
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Lere Olayinka, media aide to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, issued the warning in a statement on Friday.
“The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has sounded a note of warning to owners of Event Centres, Hotels and other public buildings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to stop offering their facilities for use by illegal organisations.
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“The FCTA noted that allocations of lands in the FCT are strictly to carry out lawful activities, adding that “going forward, title documents of any event centre, hotel or public building that is used for the gathering of illegal organisations will be revoked.”
“In view of the need to further ensure the security of lives and properties in the FCT and sustain the efforts of security agencies in this regard, usage of Event Centres, Hotels and other public buildings will now be closely monitored.
“This is aimed at ensuring that illegal organisations do not use them for gatherings capable of disrupting the peace of the nation’s capital.
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“Owners of these facilities are therefore urged to take cognisance of the legality of organisations seeking to use their facilities and the purpose before letting them out.
“For instance, in this political season, owners of Event Centres and Hotels in particular must ensure that they only deal with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognised leadership of political parties in respect of the use of their facilities, and proper records of transactions must be kept.
“Failure to comply with this directive will result to revocation of the title documents for such properties.” the statement said.
The warning comes barely 24 hours before a special national convention planned by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, to ratify former President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate in the 2027 election.
Although the FCTA directive did not specifically mention the venue for the event, A-Class Event Centre, which the Turaki-led faction intends to use for the ratification, it appeared aimed at preventing the exercise from taking place. The faction believes the directive was intended to prevent the ratification exercise.
The PDP is currently split into two factions, with one led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and backed by Mr Wike and the other led by Mr Turaki.
The Wike-backed faction, which INEC recognises, has nominated a former senator, Sandy Onor, as its presidential candidate, while the Turaki faction has adopted Mr Jonathan as its candidate.
While Mr Onor has accepted the nomination and urged party members to support his candidacy, Mr Jonathan has remained silent on his adoption by the rival faction
Turaki’s faction kicks
Responding to the FCTA warning, the Turaki-led faction said it would not be intimidated or deterred from holding the special national convention to ratify its presidential candidate.
The faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the management of the event centre had informed the faction of plans to shut down the facility if the programme went ahead.
Mr Ememobong said the faction had fulfilled all contractual obligations and notified relevant security agencies about the event.
“We have been informed by the proprietors of A Class Event Centre of the threat by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to shut down their business premises if the Peoples Democratic Party is allowed to use their hall for our presidential candidate ratification ceremonies.
“We state here, and for the record, that we had furnished consideration in full to consummate the earlier offer and acceptance. Furthermore, we had duly notified all relevant security agencies about the event. We have directed our lawyers to write, reminding A Class Event Centre of these facts,” he said.
The spokesperson, however, insisted that the ratification would proceed as scheduled despite the threat.
“Having satisfied these requirements, we reiterate that the special convention to ratify the presidential candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan will hold as scheduled on Saturday, 30th May, 2026, at A Class Event Centre, Wuse 2, Abuja, by 10 a.m.
READ ALSO: PDP faction convenes convention to ratify Jonathan as sole presidential candidate
“We are certain that Nigeria is a country governed by law, and any attempt to use force to suppress political dissent and opposition is an aberration which must be resisted by all people of good conscience.
There is nowhere in our laws that empowers the Minister of the FCT to determine which events should be held and where they should be held. Such limitless powers are strange to a democratic republic, but available and operational only under an emperor – a title that President Tinubu has been struggling to deny,” Mr Ememobong said.
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