JOURNALISTS deployed by different media houses to cover the presidential primary election of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are finding it difficult to get into the Eagle Square, the venue of the event.
Hours to the commencement of the event, many journalists were stranded at the car park of the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, adjacent the Eagle Square
Efforts by journalists to obtain media accreditation tags at the APC national secretariat on June 6 were not successful.
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Journalists who were instructed to converge on the International Conference Centre for media accreditation tags earlier in the morning on June 7 waited for several hours unable to collect the materials that would grant them access to the venue of the primary election.
By the time of filing this report at 1pm, no relevant party official had addressed journalists concerning the difficulties being experienced in obtaining the media accreditation tags.
Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR
Meanwhile, there is heavy security beef up in and around the Eagles Square.
Roads on different routes that lead to the Square have been cordoned off and vehicles are not allowed to pass, unless they are on a mission related to the APC primary election.
Apart from vehicles, the movement of pedestrians around Eagle Square has also been restricted. Many people who attempted to walk towards the Eagles Square were turned back unless they were able to produce the necessary identification.
Many road blocks and checkpoints manned by combined teams of armed security operatives, including the police, civil defence and Department of State Services (DSS), have been set up at different entry points to the Eagle Square.
Heavily armed security operatives are also positioned at strategic points around Eagle Square, including along the different routes that led to the Square from the federal secretariat.
Food vendors and other businesses, which are an usual feature of political party events at the Eagles Square, have been restricted to the main road behind the facility. Normally, the food vendors are allowed to set up shops around the Square and inside the car park of the federal secretariat, just beside the main Square.
The ICIR reporter also observed that, compared to previous events, there are fewer number of food vendors around.
With delegates, aspirants and other party members yet to arrive by noon, the population of people around the Eagles Square comprised mostly of journalists and security operatives.