Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has honoured President Bola Ahmed Tinunu by renaming the iconic Abuja International Conference Centre (AICC) after him.
The popular facility, which was originally built in 1991 by the Ibrahim Babangida military administration was recently renovated under Wike’s supervision to elevate its status to global standards.
At the official event on Tuesday in Abuja, Wike announced that the centre would now be called the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre.
He harped on the importance of regular upkeep of the facility and made it clear that all users—no matter their social standing—would have to pay to use the space.
“The Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre is a world-class structure that requires constant maintenance and that anyone using the premises must pay, regardless of their social status,” he said.
The former rivers state governor also made it known that the facility will no longer be managed by politicians. He dismissed any idea that the facility could be mismanaged under its new arrangement. Instead, he said trained professionals would oversee the operations.
After inspecting the facility and other projects getting ready for commissioning, Wike confirmed that the construction company Julius Berger would be in charge of managing the centre. He said:
“The centre will be maintained by Julius Berger, the company that built it. We’re not going to hand it over to any politician to manage.”
He further explained that Nigerian staff had been properly trained to operate the equipment and technology in the building.
“The staff working there are Nigerians who have been supervised by us to operate the technology that’s not complicated, and we’ll start operations soon after commissioning,” Wike said.
