BREAKING: ADC Finally Gets Venue For Convention Hours After Alleged Govt Sabotage

The development was disclosed on Monday afternoon by the party’s coalition mobilization wing, ADC Vanguard, via its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has finally found a venue for its much-anticipated national convention in Abuja, barely hours after a chieftain of the party raised an alarm over alleged efforts by the President Bola Tinubu-led Government to frustrate the event.

The development was disclosed on Monday afternoon by the party’s coalition mobilization wing, ADC Vanguard, via its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

According to the update, the convention is now scheduled to hold at the Rainbow Event Center, located at Plot 1193a, Off Southern Parkway, Garki Area 8, Abuja, behind the FCDA/AGIS building and near the NTA Headquarters in Area 11.

The announcement comes a few hours after the party chieftain publicly declared that it had been unable to secure any venue in the Federal Capital Territory, citing what it described as systematic obstruction.

Earlier, ADC chieftain Kola Ologbondiyan revealed that multiple attempts to obtain official and private venues had been unsuccessful.

According to him, the party had formally applied to use Eagles Square through the office of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, but received no approval despite acknowledgment of its request.

“As the bromide has shown, a letter was presented to the Office of the Federal Capital Territory Minister for a permit to use the Eagles Square. The letter was acknowledged but no response,” Ologbondiyan stated.

He further disclosed that efforts to secure the Velodrome at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium were also unsuccessful.

“The ADC team paid several visits to the Ministry of Sports officials at the MKO Stadium. At the end, ADC was refused the use of the Velodrome,” he added.

The party also alleged that privately owned event centres in Abuja declined its requests over fears of intimidation or reprisals from authorities.

“To make matters worse, privately owned event centres in Abuja are turning down the ADC’s requests for fears of harassment in various forms from the government,” Ologbondiyan said.

Despite the setbacks, the party had insisted that its convention would go ahead as scheduled on April 14, maintaining that it had duly notified the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

However, presidential spokesman Sunday Dare had denied the allegation and maintained that all political parties enjoyed equal rights under the law.

The situation is further complicated by an internal leadership tussle within the ADC, involving factions linked to David Mark and Nafiu Bala, following the resignation of former chairman Ralph Nwosu in 2025.

INEC has declined to recognise either faction pending a court ruling, adding another layer of uncertainty to the party’s convention.

Last week, prominent opposition figures including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Aminu Tambuwal and Rauf Aregbesola protested at INEC headquarters, accusing the Nigerian government of undermining opposition parties.