The Kaduna State Government and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have given conflicting accounts over the alleged sealing of Arewa House ahead of a planned consultation between former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Northern stakeholders.
While the ADC accused Governor Uba Sani’s administration of shutting down the historic facility to prevent Atiku from holding the meeting there, the Kaduna State Government’s Media and Communications Office said it was unaware of the alleged closure.
In a statement signed by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, the party described the alleged action as an attempt to obstruct its political activities.
The ADC said Arewa House represented the shared historical heritage of Northern Nigeria and accused the state government of undermining the region’s dignity by allegedly preventing the political gathering from taking place at the facility.
Atiku also accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of sealing the building after his campaign team proposed it as the venue for the consultation.
“My campaign team had proposed the Arewa House as the venue for our consultation with stakeholders on Thursday and, today, the APC government decided to seal the building,” the former Vice-President said.
The ADC further linked the alleged closure to what it described as previous attempts by the ruling APC to disrupt its political activities.
The party cited an alleged attempt to frustrate its campaign flag-off in Sokoto, saying the reported incident in Kaduna reflected a similar pattern of interference.
It consequently held President Bola Tinubu and the APC politically responsible, urging the ruling party to allow opposition groups to organise political consultations without interference.
Despite the alleged action, the ADC vowed not to be intimidated, thanked Nigerians for their support and assured its members that it would continue its consultations and pursue its rights.
However, the Kaduna State Government said it had no information about the reported sealing of Arewa House.
Speaking during a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Wednesday evening, an official of the state’s Media and Communications Office said the office had not received any report that the facility had been closed.
The official, who spoke from the Government House, also said there was no information indicating that Governor Uba Sani had directed the closure to prevent Atiku’s planned meeting.
“I don’t know if it’s sealed. I have not heard of the sealing. I’m still in the office now. I work in the Government House, so I don’t know if it’s sealed because I’ve not heard that the governor is trying to stop them from going on with their rally or anything like that,” the official said.
The government representative added that the administration was only aware of the planned political engagement scheduled for Thursday, November 12, and expressed hope that it would hold peacefully.
“We’ve not had it. We’ve not heard anything like that. The only thing we know is that they’re having their rally tomorrow. And we pray it’s going to be peaceful,” the official added.
The Media and Communications Office neither confirmed that Arewa House had been sealed nor provided an explanation for the alleged closure during the conversation.
As of the time of filing this report, the circumstances surrounding the reported closure remained unclear.