The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, has renamed the Abuja International Conference Centre (ICC) as the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre.
During the Centre’s inauguration in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike revealed that other halls within the facility have been named after Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kekere-Ekun.
He said: “Today, this Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre can stand any other International Conference Centre. And in doing that, because the National Assembly has also supported us, I have told you that as we were inspecting the project, at the back, we have two halls.
“We have to remember those who have also supported the FCT. The National Assembly is one such arm of government.
“So we have named one hall Tajudeen Abbas hall, we have named Godswill Akpabio hall, we have named one of these halls after the Vice President, we have a also named one of the halls after the CJN. And these are the three arms of the government, working together.
“So I just said since it is a property under you, and the building is under you, then, it should have small names on those halls, but it should be under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre.
“It is important for the public to understand and to know why today, this is called the 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 Centre.”
Wike credited the completion of the renovated conference centre to President Tinubu’s leadership, saying “Within eight months Mr President, this is what we have and I agree that without your leadership, it would not have been possible.”
The minister announced that ministries and government agencies will be charged a fee for future use of the Conference Centre to facilitate the centre’s upkeep and ensure its continued maintenance.
He said: “How do we sustain this? I want to let everybody know, whether you are a Ministry, whether you are an agency, you want to use this, you have to pay something. That is the only way it can be sustained. Nothing like my brother, my sister is going to have a wedding.
“If you want to use a place like this, such a beautiful place, then you must drop something.”
Persecondnews recalls that, following an inspection on April 8, 2024, Wike had ordered the facility’s closure for eight months to facilitate renovation work.
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