“Tinubu Conference Centre Booked till 2027,” Wike Silences Peter Obi, Others

• FCT minister Nyesom Wike has announced that the Bola Tinubu Conference Centre has been booked for programmes till 2027
• Wike ignored critics, including Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who criticised the N39bn spent on the renovation of the iconic facility
• The FCT minister renamed the ICC after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday, June 10 and maintained that anybody who would use the ICC must pay irrespective of his or her status

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Abuja - Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has disclosed that the recently inaugurated Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre has been booked till 2027.

Tinubu Conference Centre: Wike taunts Peter Obi, others

Recall that President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the renovated Conference Centre, previously the Abuja International Conference Centre on June 10, 2025, as part of projects to mark his second anniversary in office.

Following the inauguration, critics, including Labour Party's presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, had faulted the N39bn spent on the renovation of the ICC, noting that the sum could have been spent on other development projects, particularly in the Education Sector.

However, speaking during the inauguration of the Kugbo Bus Terminal in Abuja on Thursday, June 26, Wike noted that despite the criticisms, the ICC had been booked until 2027.

Speaking further, Wike added that he was seeking ways to adjust bookings to accommodate the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review’s request to use the place.

“You know, Nigerians pretend. They like good things, but they will pretend as if they don’t. That Conference Centre,/ has been booked now till 2027, no space. In fact, I saw an application by the Deputy Speaker, on Constitutional Amendment. There’s no space, no day,” he said.

As reported by The Punch, the minister insisted that although the National Assembly was responsible for passing the FCT’s budgets, they still had to pay for its use, as the sustainability of the facility was crucial.

“I’m trying to adjust if he can pay on time. Because it’s not free. There’s nothing like it’s the National Assembly. You have to pay something for us to sustain the facility,” Wike said.

Wike speaks on land allocated to son

Wike spoke after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has responded to a viral report alleging that the FCT minister allocated over 2,000 hectares of land to one of his sons in Abuja's highbrow areas.

Wike's top aide, Lere Olayinka, dismissed the report as nothing more than "another falsehood from the vault of those whose main job is to malign the FCT minister".

Read more on Nyesom Wike:

• Mixed reactions as Wike promises pay increase to his band for singing in ‘Chinese’
• 2027 election: Wike mentions what Tinubu did that has "killed coalition"

VeryDarkMan tackles Wike in Abuja

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that prominent social media personality, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), led a protest in Abuja.

VDM and several children protested at the entrance of Wike's office.

The protest follows Wike’s announcement of plans to withhold 10 percent of the FCT internally-generated revenue (IGR) statutory allocated to the area councils over the non-payment of minimum wage to primary school teachers in the territory.

Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng