The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has warned that hotels, event centres, and other public facilities in Abuja risk losing their land titles if they host political gatherings linked to party factions not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The warning was issued on Friday through the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka.
According to the statement, the directive is part of ongoing efforts to tighten security in the capital as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections. The administration said it is taking steps to prevent meetings and gatherings that could threaten public order.
The FCTA stated that property owners and managers must ensure strict verification of groups seeking to use their facilities, warning that any venue found to have hosted organisations considered illegal would face sanctions, including possible revocation of land titles.
“Going forward, title documents of any event centre, hotel or public building that is used for the gathering of illegal organisations will be revoked,” the statement read.
It added that monitoring of hotels, event centres, and other public facilities would be intensified as part of broader security measures aimed at maintaining peace in Abuja.
The administration also directed facility operators to ensure that political events are only conducted in partnership with party leadership structures recognised by INEC, stressing the need for proper documentation of all transactions.
“For instance, in this political season, owners of Event Centres and Hotels in particular must ensure that they only deal with INEC recognised leadership of political parties in respect of the use of their facilities, and proper records of transactions must be kept,” it said.
The warning comes amid rising internal disputes within several political parties, with factions and rival leadership groups emerging across the country ahead of the next election cycle.
However, the statement did not clearly define what constitutes an “illegal organisation,” raising questions about how the directive will be interpreted and enforced in practice.
