The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has warned the Rivers State Government against stopping the use of the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt, for a Renewed Hope Family rally planned by his political supporters. He said the organisers had applied to use the stadium for a Friday event but were turned down by the state authorities.
Wike spoke in Port Harcourt during the inauguration of coordinators for the Renewed Hope Agenda across the three senatorial districts and all 23 local government areas of Rivers State. During the event, he expressed anger over the refusal and said such action should not happen again.
According to him, residents of Rivers State have equal rights to use public facilities owned by the state. He stated that denying approval for political activities at the stadium was unacceptable and warned that if approval was refused again, the organisers would go ahead and use the facility without waiting for consent.
He directed the state coordinator of the group to submit another application to the state government and fix a new date for the inauguration of ward-level coordinators. Wike insisted that political activities should not be blocked through the control of public spaces.
The warning comes amid rising political tension in Rivers State, as disagreements continue between key political actors. As of the time of reporting, the Rivers State Government had not issued any response to Wike’s remarks or the claims about the denial of approval.