The Imo State Government has come under criticism following reports that a private event centre in Owerri was marked for possible demolition days after hosting a town hall meeting organised by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The facility, Foret Events Centre, located along Port Harcourt Road, near Concord Junction in New Owerri, was reportedly marked with red paint and a notice directing its management to present its property documents and ground rent receipts within 48 hours.
The message written on the building read: “Show your title document and ground rent within 48hrs, by Imo State Government.”
The marking was discovered on Tuesday, barely days after the centre hosted an NDC town hall meeting attended by Obi, party leaders and supporters.
The October 31 gathering attracted a large crowd of residents and political supporters.
During the meeting, Obi told attendees that President Bola Tinubu had not spent a single night in Imo State since assuming office.
Following the circulation of photographs and videos showing the marked property on social media, several Nigerians linked the action to the centre’s decision to host the opposition party’s event.
Some NDC supporters described the development as political intimidation, alleging that it was intended to discourage private venue owners from allowing opposition parties to hold political gatherings at their facilities.
Others expressed concern that the action could serve as a warning to event centres across the South-East against hosting Obi and the NDC.
They also questioned the timing of the notice, which appeared 10 days after the town hall meeting.
However, as of the time of filing this report, the Imo State Government had not issued an official explanation for marking the property or confirmed whether a final demolition order had been issued.
