The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has threatened to revoke title documents of event centres, hotels, and other public buildings that host activities by political parties and organisations not officially recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

FCT Minister, Nysom Wike, disclosed this in a statement on Friday through his spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, who stated that allocated lands are not meant to be used by illegal organisations to carry out unlawful activities.

Mr Olayinka stated that, “Going forward, title documents of any event centre, hotel or public building that is used for the gathering of illegal organisations will be revoked.”

“This political season, owners of Event Centres and Hotels in particular must ensure that they only deal with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognised leadership of political parties in respect of the use of their facilities, and proper records of transactions must be kept.”

“Failure to comply with this directive will result in revocation of the title documents of such properties,” he warned.

The minister, who said the decision is aimed at ensuring the security of lives and property in the FCT and sustaining the efforts of security agencies, noted that event centres, hotels, and other public buildings will henceforth be closely monitored.

“This is aimed at ensuring that they are not used by illegal organisations for gatherings capable of disrupting the peace of the nation’s capital. Owners of these facilities are therefore urged to take cognizance of the legality of organizations seeking to use their facilities and the purpose before letting them out.”

The warning comes a day before the special national convention of the Kabir Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), billed for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday at the ‘A’ Class Event Centre, Kassim Ibrahim Way, Wuse 2, Abuja.

The event is planned to formally ratify the nomination of former President Goodluck Jonathan as the party faction’s presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election, after handing him the automatic ticket.

The PDP faction backed by Mr Wike, however, on Thursday urged Mr Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from such reports in order to protect his integrity and reputation, insisting that former Cross River Central Senator Sandy Onor is its consensus presidential candidate after emerging as the sole aspirant on Tuesday.

The Turaki-led party faction fired back in a statement by its spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, on Friday, accusing Mr Wike of intimidation and vowing to defy his directive by holding the event as scheduled, since the proposed use of the facility has already been fully paid for and relevant security agencies duly notified.

Describing the former Rivers State governor’s move to stop the event as an assault on democratic principles and the right of association, Mr Ememobong said the Turaki-led PDP “will resist every attempt to intimidate or frustrate our lawful political activities. The venue has been duly secured and all necessary arrangements have been concluded.”