Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a leading presidential hopeful of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 election, has issued a blistering statement accusing the government and its agents of attempting to revoke the licence of Rainbow Event Centre – the scheduled venue for the party’s national convention today.
In a statement released Tuesday morning, Abubakar described the alleged move as a “shameful and cowardly abuse of public office,” and insisted that the convention will proceed despite what he called a pattern of political intimidation.
The full statement reads:
“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.
– AA”
Abubakar, a former vice president and veteran opposition figure, did not provide specific documentary evidence of the alleged licence revocation plot. However, his remarks come hours after the statement made by the National Publicity Secretary of their party, and before the ADC’s scheduled convention, which party officials say is expected to draw thousands of delegates from across the country.
Government spokespersons had not issued an official response at the time of this report.
Observers note that accusations of venue cancellations against opposition parties have been a recurring flashpoint in Nigerian politics, often raising questions about the fairness of the democratic space ahead of major elections.
The ADC has positioned itself as a coalition of disaffected groups and individuals aiming to challenge the ruling party in the 2027 presidential race. Today’s convention is seen as a critical test of the party’s organisational strength and resolve.