The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is once again sounding the alarm about plans to disrupt its planned national convention in Abuja on Monday by threatening to take away the property of any event owner who lets them use their space.
There had been an earlier unconfirmed claim that the Federal Capital Territory administration had refused to let them use Eagle Square after it had officially told the venue management about its plans.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, said in a series of posts on his X handle on Monday night that the Rainbow Event Centre, where the convention was held, was under pressure from the government to not let the party use the space.
Abdullahi says that the venue owner told the party that officials from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) threatened to take away his license if he let the ADC use the space. They were acting on the orders of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Abdullahi wrote, “After paying all the fees and getting ready for our convention tomorrow, the owner of Rainbow Event Centre just told us that he is under pressure… that if he lets the ADC use his facilities, his license will be taken away.”
He said that the party had already signed a valid contract with the venue management, but he insisted that the convention would go on as planned.
“We will have our convention tomorrow at the Rainbow Event Centre as planned. He went on to say, “We will not give in to this creeping tyranny.”
This news comes at a time when the ADC is having a long-running fight over who should be in charge. Multiple groups are claiming the party’s structure after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) took some controversial actions, such as removing some party leaders from the list of candidates.
The party’s efforts to show a united front before the 2027 general elections have been made even harder by the internal crisis, which has led to protests, meetings, and legal battles.
Abdullahi’s claim also fits into a larger story that opposition leaders have been telling about how the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is trying to weaken other parties and turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
Authorities haven’t officially responded to the claims yet, but political observers say that the situation is getting worse in the opposition space and that it raises new concerns about political tolerance and how democratic activities are carried out in the country.
Even though there was a lot of uncertainty, the ADC said it would go ahead with its convention, calling the situation a test of its will to fight what it called “creeping authoritarianism.”
Some Nigerians have responded to this new wave of efforts to keep the ADC off the ballot in the 2027 general election.
Sarki Oba (@SARKIOBA), an X handle user, said, “This is more than just a venue issue; it gets to the heart of whether legal political activities can happen without pressure.”
“That area needs to be safe.”
Another X user, @ELLUP76, wrote, “This is exactly the bold statement I wanted to hear. If that one soldier could stop @GovWike from getting into a private property and Wike couldn’t do anything until now, what about a big political party like ADC with 90% support from Nigerian youth?” An eye for an eye.
Mazi Paul Ibeh, who used to be the media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and is now a leader in the ADC, also said, “This tyranny has an end date.” “Abacha lives, but only for a short time.”
