Abuja, Nigeria – June 6, 2025 — The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has strongly criticized the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for spending a staggering N39 billion on renovating the Abuja International Conference Centre (ICC), describing it as a gross misplacement of priorities amid worsening conditions in critical sectors such as education and healthcare.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, CUPP’s National Secretary, Chief Peter Ameh, condemned the project, labeling it “an outrageous misuse of public funds” and a symbol of the government’s preference for self-aggrandizement over meaningful development.
“The ICC was constructed from the ground up in 1991 during General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime for just N240 million. Yet, despite overseeing its creation, Babangida never named it after himself,” Ameh said. “Now, the same facility has been renamed the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre after a mere facelift costing N39 billion.”
Ameh argued that this action fits into a broader trend of renaming public infrastructure after President Tinubu, citing the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu Federal Polytechnic as other examples.
“These are not signs of leadership,” he stated. “They are signs of personal branding, a desperate attempt to rewrite history with concrete and paint rather than through impactful governance.”
According to CUPP, the funds used for the renovation could have addressed more urgent issues within the FCT, including prolonged school closures, underfunded healthcare facilities, and unpaid workers in local area councils.
“Primary school students have been out of school for three months due to neglect. Health centres are barely functional, and essential services have collapsed. Yet the government spends billions on cosmetic projects,” Ameh lamented.
He added that, at a time when Nigerians are battling inflation, insecurity, and a failing social infrastructure, the administration’s focus on legacy monuments amounts to “a shameful betrayal of public trust.”
CUPP is now calling for a full investigation into the FCTA’s spending on the ICC renovation and a redirection of government priorities toward real development in education, healthcare, and job creation.
“We urge President Tinubu to build a legacy with schools that educate, hospitals that heal, and industries that employ—not with monuments bearing his name,” the statement concluded. “Nigerians need solutions, not statues.”
The CUPP’s statement adds to growing public scrutiny over government spending amid an economic crisis that continues to strain citizens across the country.
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