Omoyele Sowore, activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has demanded equal access to the Presidential Villa for opposition political parties, insisting that his party should enjoy the same privileges allegedly extended to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), including catering, security and logistical support.
Sowore said the AAC would not pay to use the State House Banquet Hall for its political activities unless the APC provides receipts proving that it paid for its previous use of the facility for party meetings, programme launches, weddings and other events.
The activist made the remarks while appearing on Arise Television on Thursday evening, where he challenged what he described as unequal treatment of political parties in their access to public facilities.
According to Sowore, the APC has been using the Presidential Villa for political activities since 2016, following its assumption of power in 2015. He alleged that the ruling party had held meetings, caucus gatherings, programme launches and other events at the facility, including weddings involving relatives and friends of party members.
He argued that public facilities should not be treated as exclusive resources of the party in power, maintaining that opposition parties should enjoy the same privileges if the government is committed to fairness and equal treatment.
âIt is stated in the Constitution of Nigeria that all political parties should be granted equal access to public spaces, even the media, regardless of their status or size,â Sowore said.
The AAC presidential candidate said his party had observed the APC’s use of the Presidential Villa for various political activities over the years, including meetings of its campaign councils and other gatherings held at different times of the day and night.
âWe have noticed that since 2016, the APC, having come to power in 2015, has used the Presidential Villa for meetings, caucus meetings, launching programmes. In some cases, they use them for weddings of their relatives and friends,â he said.
Sowore maintained that if the ruling party could organise political meetings, launch programmes and hold campaign council gatherings at the Presidential Villa with catering, security and logistical arrangements provided, the AAC should be entitled to comparable treatment.
âSo we are saying this time around that if the APC, which is a ruling party, can use the Presidential Villa for its political activities, launching, its own campaign councils and holding meetings day and night, with catering provided, with security provided, with logistics provided, we are also entitled to the same level of treatment,â he said.
âI think that’s fair to ask for.â
When the established procedure for applying to use the State House Banquet Hall, which requires payment, was raised during the television interview, Sowore insisted that the AAC would not pay unless the APC could demonstrate that it had settled the necessary charges for its previous use of the facility.
âWe’re not going to pay for it this time, except it can provide receipts of payment by APC for all the times they use the Presidential Villa for their meetings and events,â he said.
âOtherwise, we are asking for, we are just simply asking for the same level of treatment.â
He further pointed to the food and refreshments allegedly provided during APC events at the venue, saying the AAC expected similar arrangements if it was to receive equal treatment.
Sowore stressed that his party was not demanding alcoholic drinks, but rather basic refreshments and food comparable to what he alleged was provided to members of the ruling party during their gatherings at the facility.
âBecause we see them at the banquet hall with food, drinks, and water, you know,â he said.
âAnd we did not ask for alcoholic drinks so that they would not be afraid that, you know, they would get out of hand. We’re just asking for water and for them to provide food. The same way they provide to members of their party at the APC.â
The AAC presidential candidate’s demand has brought renewed attention to the use of government-owned facilities for political party activities and the rules governing access to such venues.
At the centre of Sowore’s argument is whether the ruling party and opposition parties are subjected to the same conditions when seeking to use public facilities, particularly those within the Presidential Villa.
By demanding receipts for the APC’s previous use of the venue, Sowore has challenged the ruling party to demonstrate that it paid the applicable charges for its events, while insisting that the AAC should not be required to pay for comparable access if the same conditions were not applied to the APC.
He maintained that his party was seeking equal treatment, including access to the banquet hall and the catering, security and logistical arrangements he said had been available to the ruling party.