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Social listening 13 June 2025
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s renaming Abuja’s International Conference Centre (ICC) to the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre on June 10, 2025, marks a significant political and symbolic act. It cost the Nigerian treasury N39 billion.
Here’s a synthesis of key developments, controversies, and implications:
?️ 1. Rationale for Renaming and Commissioning
Leadership Credit: Wike attributed the decision to President Tinubu’s “visionary leadership,” citing his 2024 directive to renovate the dilapidated facility after an ECOWAS Parliament event where Tinubu condemned its “dirty, disorganised, and uninhabitable” state.
Renovation Achievements: Julius Berger Nigeria PLC completed the overhaul within eight months, restoring the 1991-built facility to “world-class standards” Tinubu hailed this as aligning with his Renewed Hope Agenda for infrastructure revitalisation 715.
? 2. New Usage Policies and Sustainability Measures Mandatory Fees: To ensure maintenance, Wike announced that all users, including government ministries, agencies, and private individuals, must pay to access the centre. He explicitly ruled out free usage for events like weddings, stressing: “If you want a beautiful place like this, you must pay”.
Management Handover: The facility will be managed by Julius Berger, not politicians, to prevent past mismanagement. Staff are being trained to operate the technical systems.
?️ 3. Broader Naming Honours Within the Centre Beyond Tinubu, key halls were renamed after high-ranking officials:
Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola (Kekere-Ekun) 1115.
Wike framed this as recognising collaborative governance among Nigeria’s three arms.
⚖️ 4. Controversies and Public Backlash
Historical Erasure Critics: Former Senator Shehu Sani urged Tinubu to reject the renaming, noting the ICC was built by military leader Ibrahim Babangida in 1991 and should retain its original identity.
Legal Authority Debate: Lawyers clarified that Wike can rename federal properties only with Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval, raising questions about procedural compliance.
Political Context: The move follows Wike’s feuds with figures like ex-Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi, whom he called “hungry for power.” Tinubu’s support for Wike—urging him to ignore “busybodies and bystanders”—amplifies perceptions of partisan loyalty
The ICC renaming exemplifies Tinubu’s accelerating legacy-building strategy, mirroring earlier efforts to associate Democracy Day (June 12) with his pro-democracy record. While it showcases infrastructure gains, the move faces criticism over historical preservation, legal procedures, and socioeconomic priorities.
Other views:
I dey laff. IBB, who built the International Conference Centre, did not name it after himself.
The man who renovated it has put his name on it.
1. Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks, Asokoro, Abuja, January 2025.
2. Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC), Abuja: This is the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) technology centre, which was commissioned in December 2024.
3. Bola Ahmed Tinubu Polytechnic, Gwarinpa, Abuja.
4. Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport, Minna, Niger State: The Abubakar Imam International Airport was reportedly renamed by the Niger State Government in March 2024.
5. Bola Tinubu Complex (National Assembly Library and Resource Centre), Abuja. Inaugurated & named in May 2024
6. Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way, Abuja’s Southern Parkway (S8/S9): Named by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in May 2024.
7. Bola Ahmed Tinubu Road (at Dangote Refinery): in June 2025.
8. Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja, June 2025.
And still counting!
– Imran U. Wakili
Me: President Tinubu has also named the ICT wing of Maryam Babangida’s National Centre for Women Development, Abuja, after his mother, Abibat Mogaji, in November 2024
Meanwhile, of all these institutions Tinubu is renaming after himself, only the FG Polytechnic Gwarinpa, Abuja, is his project, which has not even been constructed. Na still bush.
Every other is a project initiated or completed by previous administrations, who didn’t name them after themselves.
Eniola Akinkuotu
@ENIBOY
Wike spent N39bn on renovating the ICC in Abuja. The ICC generates less than N7 million daily from rent. In 365 days, that is N2.5 billion. It means in 10 years, it will not recover this N39bn. That’s the difference between how govt and private sector think.
Tunde Onakoya
To be honoured and received by the President is not a crime
@Tunde_OD
I’ll say a few things…
1. The anger, the hate, the love, the applause, the criticism, all of it is valid and I embrace it.
2. I am a world record holder which means I have attained something no one else in the world has ever done. I was recently honoured and awarded by the city of New York. To be honored and received by the President and the highest office in my own country for this reason is not a crime. (It is not even a national honor by the way). I have declined many awards.
Comparing me to people who have received awards and recognition from countries that have committed war crimes is at best laughable.
3. I have no interest in partisan politics because of the sensitivity of the work that I do. If that ever changes, then I would resign my role as CEO of chess in slums Africa.
4. The rhetoric that Chess in slums only exists or is relevant because of bad governance is not accurate. The real impact of our work is in the synapses. We’re using chess as a tool to teach cognition and improve academic outcomes. Using it as a social intervention tool is because those children have fallen through the cracks and cannot make it to the classrooms. This is not charity or “NGO”. What most of you measure as the most tangible impact is we just dignifying the stories of the children you see all the time on the streets but pay no attention to.
The real impact here is ensuring they have the critical capacity to think for themselves and putting them through formal or vocational education. I continue to consult with educational institutions and tech companies around the world, so my work will always be relevant and whatever resource or influence that gives me, I will use all of it to serve the children who deserve a place in the world as well.
5. A visit is not an endorsement. I will visit many more people and will continue to sell my chess boards.
6. You may not understand my intentions or character because the only thing you know about me is what I let on social media. But reputation is not character. It’s been 10 long years of staying with this one thing, so I know for a fact that I have earned the benefit of the doubt.
7. Again, I embrace the love and the hate. But I care for none of it. In a decade or two, the Chess/STEM institute will stand and it will be a place where thousands of children will dream again and be educated in a way that makes them valuable to the world. All the strong opinions we have now falls flat in the face of this.
8. Finally, I appreciate everyone who has ever supported the incredible work we’ve done in the last 7 years. We have never applied or received any international grants in this time.
9. We’ve been working with the Lagos state government for about a year now to take kids from Jakande and Isale Eko off the streets. One of them recently graduated from furniture school and is living again. Our collective hurt is valid and we may disagree on politics but there are actual lives at stake and we all have a role to play in whatever capacity to stop this hemorrhage. Yes we will partner with the government to scale this impact and institutionalize it so Tunde stops being the hero of the story. It’s your tax anyway. 10. Finally I’d say this, My fight is different. I’m not on the fence. I took a stand 10 years ago for the country I want to see. The truth is I will do many more things that may challenge your perception of me, but I know my heart is in the right place and whatever rooms my vision gives me access to, I will put the dreams and needs of the children first. I live for the audience of one, and that is enough.
-Tunde Onakoya on X.
