Atiku Accuses Govt of Plot to Revoke Venue License and Shut Down ADC Convention
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the federal government of attempting to frustrate the national convention of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), scheduled to hold on Tuesday in Abuja.
Atiku, in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, alleged that there were plans to revoke the licence of Rainbow Event Centre, the venue billed to host the party’s convention.
He described the alleged move as an attack on democracy and opposition politics in Nigeria.
“The reports from the spokesperson of our great party, which exposes the plans of the government and its agents to revoke the licence of Rainbow Event Centre for the singular offence of hosting the African Democratic Congress convention slated for today, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, is a shameful and cowardly abuse of public office.”
The former presidential candidate said any attempt to pressure a private business owner into denying a political party access to a paid venue amounts to intimidation.
“Let it be said without equivocation: coercing a private business owner to deny a lawfully registered opposition party the use of a venue is not governance. It is not politics. It is the naked conduct of a regime that has lost the argument, lost the people, and now reaches for the boot because it has nothing else left.”
Atiku insisted that the ADC followed due process in securing the venue for its event. He maintained that all payments had been made and agreements duly signed.
“The ADC has paid every fee. The ADC has signed every contract. The ADC has broken no law. Our only offence is that we are organising, we are growing, and we are preparing to retire this failed government at the ballot box in 2027.”
He warned that such actions, if true, reflect a broader pattern of suppressing opposition voices and undermining democratic rights.
“This is how democracies are strangled, not in a single dramatic blow, but in a thousand petty, vindictive acts against opposition parties, against free assembly, and against the sacred right of citizens to choose their own leaders.”
The former vice president also called on the international community to take note of developments in Nigeria’s political space.
“To the international community, and every democratic partner of Nigeria: take note of what is being done here tonight, and in whose name.”
Despite the alleged pressure, Atiku said the party would not back down from holding its convention.
“We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. We will not bow to this creeping tyranny, and we will never bow to the petty tyrants behind it.”
“The convention will hold. The ADC will rise. And Nigeria will rise with it.”
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official response from government authorities regarding the allegation.
