Politics

Atiku Blasts Tinubu Govt Over Plot To Shut ADC Convention Venue

ByTitilope Adako

PublishedApril 14, 2026

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned what he described as a “shameful and cowardly abuse of public office,” accusing the Bola Tinubu-led government of attempting to pressure the management of Rainbow Event Centre to withdraw its approval for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) national convention scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Atiku said there were moves to revoke the venue’s operating licence solely for agreeing to host the opposition gathering.

He said, “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.

“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.

“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.

“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. To the international community, and every democratic partner of Nigeria: take note of what is being done here tonight, and in whose name.

“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,” he said.

Meanwhile, the party’s spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, had earlier said that the venue owner was threatened with licence revocation.

“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.

He, however, insisted the party would proceed with the event.

“But we have already signed the contract with him. We will hold our convention tomorrow as planned at the Rainbow Event Centre,” he added.

Abdullahi also decried what he described as rising authoritarian tendencies.

“We will not bow to this creeping tyranny. And definitely not to this petty tyrant. ADC is rising, Nigeria is rising,” he stated.

Titilope Adako

Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.