Amadeo Event Centre Clears Air on NDC Event Cancellation

The management of Amadeo Event Centre in Enugu State has denied claims that it stopped the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) from using its venue for a scheduled event.

In a statement on Thursday, the company called the allegation untrue.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier that the NDC in Enugu State accused Governor Peter Mbah of blocking the party from holding its event at the centre on Thursday.

Governor Mbah has denied these claims, saying that the Amadeo Event Centre is a private venue and it is unlikely he would tell a private business to stop the opposition from holding their event.

What Actually Happened

In the Thursday statement, the company explained that Sabastine Ezeh, the Registrar of the Nigeria Institute of Healthcare Givers and Medical Social Work Practitioners, booked the venue on 7 October. He stated in the agreement that the rental was for a “National Meeting and Conference.”

According to the statement, Mr Ezeh said the conference was set for 15 October 2026. But on 13 October, he requested to cancel the event and get a refund.

Later, the registrar changed his mind about the cancellation, saying the association wanted to postpone the event instead.

“On October 23, 2026, the Client confirmed October 29, 2026, and we agreed that decoration would start on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

“On the morning of October 28, 2026, the decoration materials brought were for a political party and had nothing to do with the association,” the company stated.

“This clearly violated the contract for use of the venue that we signed with the client.”

The event centre pointed out that Clause 17 of the agreement allows them to stop any event that is not conducted properly or reasonably according to the agreement.

“It was on the basis of this violation that the client was notified of the cancellation of the right to use the venue,” the firm explained.

“After receiving the notice of cancellation, Enugu State NDC officials and candidates entered our premises with security details.

“We were surprised by the switch from the association to an NDC political rally,” it added.

Why We Let the NDC Hold the Event Despite the Violation

The Amadeo Event Centre later explained that it allowed the NDC to use the facility despite the earlier violation.

“Despite the contractual violation, we allowed the event to go ahead to avoid any disturbance after the organisers told us it would now be a youth town hall meeting with Mr Peter Obi,” it said.

Enugu Government Never Involved

The company stated that it is not politically biased and that its policy has always been to refuse the use of the venue for political events.

“We did not ask or seek police help to stop the event. The policemen seen in videos were escorts for some political aspirants who came to the event centre after receiving the notice of cancellation,” it said.

The firm emphasized that the Enugu State Government had no role in its decision to cancel the booking due to the contractual violation.

“Management received no orders, directly or indirectly, from any government official as this was purely a contractual issue,” it stated.

“This whole situation has been twisted and viewed through a political lens because of the current political climate.