"Eagle Square belongs to all Nigerians", Saraki blows hot

Senate President Bukola Saraki says denying Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso use of the Eagle Square in Abuja for his presidential declaration,

Former Governor of Kano, Kwankwaso, had applied for the use of the Eagle Square days ahead of his presidential declaration billed for Wednesday, August 29.

That application was duly granted.

However, on August 27, the Integrated Facility Management Services Ltd which manages the Square reversed its approval decision because"29th August, 2018, happens to be a work day, as it would disrupt the usual work flow of the Federal Secretariat".

In a letter signed by Usman Mukhtar Raji, the managers of the square apologized "for the oversight on our part to note the date in relation to the nature of the event. We regret every inconvenience caused by this."

'Handiwork of government in power'

In a press statement issued afterwards, the Kwankwaso Campaign Organisation said it saw the development as the "handiwork of the government in power who will not see anything good in growing our fledgling democracy, as no level playing field has been created to allow for viable opposition in the country".

Saraki has also condemned the last minute cancellation of the approval granted to Kwankwaso to "utilize the Eagle Square for his 2019 presidential declaration".

Saraki blows hot

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said the “Eagle Square belongs to all Nigerians.

“The refusal to allow Senator Kwankwaso to utilize the Eagle Square for his Presidential declaration, despite an earlier approval, sends a wrong message about our democracy, particularly the tolerance level in our politics.

“That square belongs to all Nigerians because it was built with public funds. We hope this is not what we will be seeing as we approach the 2019 General Elections,” the senate president said.

Kwankwaso is one of a slew of big name politicians in the PDP eyeing the party's presidential ticket. Others are Ibrahim Dankwambo, Sule Lamido, Ahmed Makarfi, Atiku Abubakar and Bukola Saraki.

Saraki and Kwankwaso recently announced their defection from the governing APC to the opposition PDP.