By Kingston Magare 13.4.2026
With a few hours to go the African Democratic Congress (ADC) cannot find a venue for it’s national convention in Abuja the Federal Capital Territory.
ADC chieftain Kola Ologbondiyan Monday writing on his X social media platform accused the government of President Bola Tinubu of frustrating the efforts of the Party at securing a venue.
He said all efforts to get the Eagles Square in central Abuja City and the MKO Abiola Stadium at the outskirts has proved difficult. He said attempts to secure both public and private venues in the Federal Capital Territory has failed.
He claimed the party had wrote to the office of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, seeking approval to use the Eagles Square, but there was no response.
“As the bromide has shown, a letter was presented to the Office of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister for a permit to use the Eagles Square. The letter was acknowledged but no response,” he stated.
“The ADC team paid several visits to the Ministry of Sports officials at the MKO Stadium. At the end, ADC was refused the use of the Velodrome,” the statement added.
“To make matters worse, privately owned event centres in Abuja are turning down the ADC’s requests for fears of harassment in various forms from the government,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty, the party insisted that the convention will still go ahead as planned. It reaffirmed that members and supporters should remain committed to the scheduled date.
“All ADC members, teeming party supporters and indeed all Nigerians are assured that, as contained in the NOTICE issued to INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission), the ADC National Convention will hold in Abuja as scheduled on Tuesday, April 14th, 2026,” Ologbondiyan stated
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wike dismissed the claim.
“Who denied them? I am not aware of any such development, and I don’t even know which party you are referring to.
“If it is the African Democratic Congress (ADC), such claims are their usual attempt to gain public sympathy,” Wike said.
He explained that access to Eagle Square follows a laid-down process, which includes submitting a formal application through the Abuja Investments Company Limited, the body responsible for managing the facility and payment of the required fees.
The minister also clarified that the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Velodrome does not fall under the Federal Capital Territory Administration but is managed by the Sports Commission.
“As we speak, no formal application has been submitted to the Abuja Investments Company Limited. When the APC used the venue and the PDP used the Stadium Velodrome, they complied with the process. We do not deny anyone access if the rules are followed,” he added.