The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has described the International Conference Centre, ICC, Abuja as not befitting for the status of Nigeria.
As a result, the minister said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed him to renovate the Centre to look better, in line with international standard.
To this extent, Wike stated that all booked events at the centre have now been cancelled until the renovation work is completed by foremost construction company, Julius Berger, the firm originally built the facility many years ago.
Wike made the announcement during an inspection tour of the facility on Monday, saying the Centre had not been well maintained.
He explained that the renovation was based on President Tinubu’s admonition that it has become an eyesore.
The minister said: “When we came here for the ECOWAS inauguration sometime last week, with President Bola Tinubu, no right-thinking human being would see the state of this facility and be happy.
“In fact, during the inauguration, Tinubu drew my attention to the rot. Even the lighting system was so poor. This is unacceptable. There is no way we can accept this as an International Conference Centre.
“You cannot call it a conference centre but not international, because there is no standard compared to any international conference centre.
“So, we are sorry to announce this; every booking made here is cancelled. We will start immediate rehabilitation of the centre to meet up with international standards,” the minister said.
The ICC is one of the legacy projects of former military president Ibrahim Babangida.
