ADC Presses Ahead With Convention Despite Venue Controversy
Amid a tense pre-convention standoff over the use of a private event centre in Abuja, the David Mark-led faction of the African Democratic Congress moved forward with its national convention on Tuesday, after days of scrambling for a venue and fresh accusations of political intimidation directed at the Federal Capital Territory administration.
Senator Dino Melaye, former lawmaker representing Kogi West and a prominent ADC chieftain, confirmed to journalists at the venue that the convention would hold at the Rainbow Event Centre in Garki, Area 8, Abuja, despite a reported eleventh-hour attempt to derail it.
“We refused to leave Rainbow Event Centre because we have a duly signed contract. We paid in full for this venue for the ADC convention, and we will hold it here. With a binding contract with management, no one could have stopped us from proceeding with the convention,” he said.
The assurance came after the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, raised the alarm on Monday night, alleging that the owner of the Rainbow Event Centre had come under pressure from the Federal Capital Development Authority and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to cancel the booking.
“After paying all the fees required, setting up for our convention tomorrow, the owner of Rainbow Event Centre has just informed us that he has come under pressure from the FCDA and Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, that if he allows the ADC the use of his facilities, his licence will be revoked,” Abdullahi said in a statement posted on X. He described the situation as “creeping tyranny” and pledged that the event would proceed regardless.
Wike, however, flatly dismissed the allegations, saying no formal application had been received and laying part of the blame on the party’s own procedures. He noted that the Abuja Investments Company Limited, and not his office, manages Eagle Square.
“Is office of the FCT Minister in charge of Eagle Square? The answer is NO. It is the Abuja Investments Company Limited,” he said, adding that the party wrote a letter seeking use of Eagle Square only seven days to the convention, when INEC requires 21 days’ notice specifying date, venue, and time.
“We do not deny access; these events actually generate revenue for the government. Who denied them? I am not aware of any such development, and I don’t even know which party you are referring to,” Wike said.
Neither Wike nor the FCDA had responded to the specific allegations concerning the Rainbow Event Centre as of press time.
The venue crisis was compounded by the party’s earlier failure to secure alternatives. Sources indicated the ADC was denied access to at least two venues, including the Abuja Transcorp Hilton Hotel, despite prior arrangements, prompting suspicions of organised sabotage. Media aide to David Mark, Kola Ologbondiyan, also disclosed that efforts to use facilities at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, including the Velodrome, were similarly unsuccessful. He further alleged that privately owned event centres in Abuja had turned down the party’s requests out of fear of government harassment.
By Monday evening, the Rainbow Event Centre was already being decorated for the event, with the Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee and former Rivers State Governor, Liyel Imoke, personally supervising preparations on ground. Other senior figures sighted at the venue included former Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha and former NBA President Olumide Akpata.
The convention holds against the backdrop of a widening leadership dispute within the ADC. The party is currently fragmented into at least three camps, one led by David Mark, another by former deputy chairman Nafiu Bala Gombe, and a third bloc associated with some state chairmen and the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu. INEC, which on April 1 withdrew recognition from the Mark-led executive and suspended dealings with all ADC factions, has not indicated any change in that position ahead of the convention.