YPP's Agada tells Sowore, others: Aso Villa is not for campaigns
- Peter Agada of the Young Progressives Party says the Presidential Villa should be reserved for government work, not campaign events.
- His comments follow a request by Omoyele Sowore's African Action Congress to hold its campaign council launch at the Villa on November 11.
- Agada says candidates should show their own offices and businesses instead of seeking access to Aso Rock.
The Young Progressives Party (YPP) presidential candidate, Dr Peter Agada, has said the Presidential Villa should not be used for campaign events or social gatherings, weighing in on a request by the African Action Congress (AAC) to hold its campaign launch at Aso Rock.
Agada spoke at a media parley in Abuja on Friday, and repeated the point in an interview with The Sun published on Saturday.
The AAC, led by its presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, wrote to President Bola Tinubu asking to inaugurate its Presidential Campaign Council at the Villa ahead of the 2027 general elections. The letter, dated October 21, sought approval for a November 11 event and asked for food, drinks and other logistical support for participants.
The party said the request was based on multiparty democracy, political inclusiveness and equal treatment of political parties, arguing that approval would show the Presidency's commitment to fairness.
What Agada is asking
Agada said the Villa is a high-security facility meant for government business, and pointed to the country's security challenges and the resurgence of Ebola as reasons it should not host social events.
He said the real test of a presidential candidate is not access to Aso Rock but the office and business the person runs today.
"If you cannot show your current office and residence, it means you have no job," Agada said.
He described his own engineering firm, Cyrus Acoustics Group Limited, as having 30 years of experience in road and estate construction and 47 staff. He said his Abuja home was built from the proceeds of that business, not politics.
Agada, a former Labour Party chieftain, said his campaign will be flagged off from his construction yard rather than a hotel or the Villa, and challenged other candidates to do the same.
He also urged voters to ask candidates for audited accounts of their companies for the last three years and a list of projects they have delivered, arguing that someone who cannot run a small company cannot manage the national budget.
On his own plans, he said he would run a lean government and treat the Villa as a temporary site office for four years before returning to his engineering work.
What happens next
The Presidency has not said publicly whether it will approve the AAC's request. Campaigns for the 2027 elections are expected to gather pace in the coming months, and how parties use public facilities will likely remain a talking point.
