Eric Patrick
The newly renovated Abuja International Conference Centre has been renamed after president Bola Tinubu.
The event, held in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday, was attended by key government figures, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and other top officials.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Wike justified the decision to rename the centre after Tinubu, attributing the successful renovation to the President’s leadership.
Wike said, “It is important for the public to know and understand why this is called Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre. This conference centre was built in 1991 under the military government.
“Since that time, nothing has happened to this International Conference Centre. Last year, July/August, you (Tinubu) came here to inaugurate the ECOWAS Parliament.
“It is an embarrassment for a country to still have this as an international conference (centre) then, and you said, ‘how can we have this’? That shows leadership.
“And you (Tinubu) said, ‘Next time you want to come here, you want to see a different international conference.
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“Within eight months, Mr President, this is what we have. And I agree that without your leadership, it wouldn’t have been possible.
“You’re not the only President who has come here; so many Presidents have come here, and nobody has said this is what Nigeria needs.
“Today, this is the Bola Ahmed International Conference Centre, which can match any other international conference centre.”
The centre, initially constructed in 1991 during the military regime of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, had suffered years of neglect and underutilisation despite its prime status as a national conference facility.
In March, Wike disclosed that the renovation of the facility would cost the country a staggering N39 billion, a revelation that drew sharp criticism from many Nigerians already grappling with economic hardship and inflation.