By Emmanuel Mogbede
Abuja – As voting progressed at the National Convention of All Progressives Congress (APC), party members cooled off in makeshift restaurants and bars which sprang up around the convention venue in Abuja.
The “emergency” restaurants and beer parlours were mostly on Shehu Shaagari Way where Eagle Square venue of the convention is located, and adjoining roads between Ministry of Finance and Federal Secretariat.
Some of the delegates who had voted, and members and supporters who were not allowed into the convention arena, were seen wining and dining, making merry in the open spots, amid rain drizzles.
Some of the restaurant operators, who spoke News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said patronage was high in spite of the rain.
“You can see that I have to cook more food even in the rain to cope with the demand; so far, I thank God,” Mrs Jenifer Ibe, one of the operators, said.
The customers told NAN that they needed to warm their bodies with drinks and hot food because of the cold weather caused by the rain which fell most the day and made the convention proceed in it.
One of them, a delegate from Adamawa, who had voted but pleaded not to be identified, said “I need this hot seriously. Apart from the cold weather, most of us have not eaten all day.
“God will bless these women and men operating these emergency food joints and those who permitted them.”
Drinks of all types as well various foods were on sale at the spots and more customers thronged the places excitedly.
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