By Emmanuel Thomas in Abuja
The Interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm over an alleged threat by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to seal off the venue designated for the ratification of former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate.
The party, however, vowed to resist any form of state intimidation, insisting that the special convention will proceed today, Saturday, May 30, 2026, at the A Class Event Centre in Wuse 2, Abuja, as originally scheduled.
In a strongly worded press statement issued on Friday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the interim leadership of the opposition party claimed it was briefed by the proprietors of the event center regarding the FCT Minister’s alleged directives to shut down the facility if the PDP is allowed to use it.
Reaffirming its commitment to the event, the PDP stated that it had already fulfilled all legal and financial obligations to secure the venue, alongside notifying the appropriate security apparatuses.
”We state here, and for the record, that we had furnished consideration in full to consummate the earlier offer and acceptance,” Ememobong stated.
“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.”
The opposition party strongly condemned the alleged move, describing it as an authoritarian overreach and an abuse of power alien to a democratic governance structure.
The statement read: “There is nowhere in our laws where the Minister of the FCT is empowered to determine events that 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.”
While maintaining that Nigeria remains a country governed by the rule of law, the interim NWC called on all critical stakeholders—including state party leaders and National Executive Committee (NEC) members—to disregard the threats and converge at the venue by 10:00 a.m. today.
At the time of filing this report, officials of the FCT Administration had not issued a formal response to the allegations raised by the PDP caretaker group.