The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s (FCTA) decision to revoke the Right of Occupancy (RofO) for its national secretariat, describing the move as a direct assault on opposition parties in Nigeria.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday in Abuja, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, criticized the action as a serious threat to democracy.
According to earlier reports by AFRIPOST, the FCT Minister had taken steps to revoke the land allocation.
Ologunagba denounced the decision by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government, stating that it was a calculated attempt to undermine the opposition and push the country toward authoritarian rule.
“The revocation of our national secretariat’s Right of Occupancy is unacceptable. It is an attempt to silence the opposition and endanger democracy,” Ologunagba asserted.
He explained that the decision affected both the current PDP headquarters at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, and the unfinished 11-storey permanent secretariat in the Central Business District of Abuja.
“The National Working Committee (NWC) is currently deliberating on this matter, and an official response will be issued soon. However, it is alarming that both our longstanding headquarters and the new building project, which has been in progress for years, are now being targeted. This is nothing short of an attempt to weaken the opposition,” he added.
The FCTA, under Minister Nyesom Wike, revoked the land allocation, citing the PDP’s alleged failure to pay ground rent for 20 years.
A revocation notice, dated March 13, 2025, was sent to the PDP National Chairman by the FCTA’s Department of Land Administration.
Signed by the Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, the letter stated that the party had lost all rights, interests, and privileges over Plot No. 243 in the Central Area, Cadastral Zone A00, Abuja.
The document referenced Section 28, Subsection 5 (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act, highlighting that the PDP had defaulted on payments from January 1, 2006, to January 1, 2025, despite multiple public notices urging compliance.
The 11-storey secretariat project, initially estimated at N16 billion, has remained incomplete since its construction began in 2008, despite various fundraising initiatives.
Several former PDP national chairmen, including Uche Secondus and Iyorchia Ayu, had pledged to complete the project but failed to do so. During a site visit in January 2022, Ayu vowed to oversee the building’s completion but was suspended from the party in 2023 before fulfilling that promise.
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