The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday sealed off the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja over alleged violations relating to land use and unpaid ground rent.
Located at Wadata Plaza, in the highbrow Wuse Zone 5 district of the capital, the PDP’s national secretariat was sealed this afternoon by operatives of the FCTA’s Department of Development Control, backed by security agents.
Officials at the scene cited long-standing issues over non-payment of ground rent and unresolved land documentation as the reason for the action, which many insiders see as politically charged.
According to an FCTA source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the PDP secretariat had failed to meet repeated deadlines to settle its obligations regarding the land. “Several notices were issued to the party to resolve these matters, but they were ignored. The law is clear, and the sealing is a standard enforcement procedure,” the source said.
However, the move has sparked outrage among PDP members and leadership, who described the action as an act of political intimidation by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government.
“This is not about land rent. This is a direct attack on democracy and the opposition,” a senior party official told journalists. “There are hundreds of buildings in Abuja owing the FCTA; why target the PDP headquarters, and why now?”
This development is coming a day after Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, a ranking meber of the party pulled out of every Peace agreement he assented to in order to quell the deep crisis rocking the Party.