The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has directed owners of event centres and hotels in Abuja to refuse access to any party faction not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), threatening to revoke the title documents of non-compliant facilities.
As if the Minister Nyesom Wike-led administration had them in mind while issuing the directive, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki, says it will proceed with the special convention to ratify former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The faction had set Saturday for the event, scheduled to be held at A-Class Park and Event Centre in Abuja. The PDP is polarised into two factions, with the Wike-backed camp recognised by INEC.
“Owners of Event Centres and Hotels in particular must ensure that they only deal with Independent National Electoral Commission INEC recognized 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 in revocation of the title documents of such properties,” read the directive, issued Friday by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister.
The instruction effectively empowers venue owners — and by extension the FCTA — to determine which political tendencies may lawfully assemble in the nation’s capital, a power that critics are likely to read as an attempt to tilt the playing field against factions contesting for control of parties currently locked in leadership disputes.
Responding in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Ini Ememobong, the Turaki PDP faction noted that the FCTA has threatened to close the facility if it hosts the convention.
Ememobong said the party had already fulfilled all requirements for using the venue, adding that the event will be held as scheduled.
“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 to A Class Event Centre, reminding them of these facts.
“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 am.
“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,” the statement reads.
The PDP spokesman said no law empowers the minister to determine which events should be held in Abuja.
“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,” he said.
Ememobong ended by calling on party members, leaders and stakeholders to attend the event on Saturday.
