2027: Wike bans unrecognised party factions from using Abuja hotels, event centres

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has directed owners of hotels and event centres in Abuja to refuse the use of their facilities by any political party faction that is not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), warning that properties that fail to comply risk losing their title documents. 

The directive was announced on Friday by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, amid rising internal disputes within major political parties as preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections.

The FCTA said the move is aimed at preventing unrecognised groups from holding political activities in the capital and maintaining order, stressing that it will not tolerate the use of public venues by factions not officially recognised by the electoral body.

“Owners of Event Centres and Hotels in particular must ensure that they only deal with Independent National Electoral Commission INEC recognized leadership of political parties in respect of the use of their facilities, and proper records of transactions must be kept,” Olayinka stated.

The instruction effectively empowers venue owners, and by extension the FCTA to determine which political tendencies may lawfully assemble in the nation’s capital, a power that critics are likely to read as an attempt to tilt the playing field against factions contesting for control of parties currently locked in leadership disputes.

Wike’s administration described the move broadly as a security measure, saying facilities would be monitored to prevent gatherings “capable of disrupting the peace of the nation’s capital.”

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

The order lands at a particularly sensitive moment, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, and other opposition formations embroiled in parallel leadership and court battles over which faction holds legitimate control contests in which INEC recognition has become the decisive factor.

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