Hoax: Prabowo to Take Over IKN for Military Headquarters

A Facebook post featuring an infographic has circulated, claiming that President Prabowo Subianto rejects the plan to relocate the national capital to Nusantara Capital City (IKN). The infographic further alleges that Prabowo has requested the TNI Commander to take over IKN and transform it into the TNI headquarters. The graphic contrasts an illustration of the 7th President Joko Widodo, with a narrative stating IKN is a modern, sustainable city, against an illustration of Prabowo, with a narrative claiming IKN will be converted into a national defence centre and integrated TNI headquarters.

However, based on an investigation, no official statement from President Prabowo Subianto supports the claim of rejecting the capital relocation or converting IKN solely into a military base. On the contrary, the Cabinet Secretariat stated in January 2026 that President Prabowo’s working visit to IKN demonstrated the government’s commitment to ensuring the development proceeds according to plan as Indonesia’s new centre of government. During the visit, the President reviewed the readiness of the IKN core area and stressed the importance of human resource development as the foundation of the future capital.

The government has affirmed that relocating the centre of government to IKN remains a national agenda. According to previous reports, the government explained that the relocation will occur once IKN is capable of functioning as a political capital, meaning when executive, legislative, and judicial facilities are ready. The government estimates this condition can be achieved by 2028 or at the latest 2029.

Meanwhile, the construction of various defence facilities in IKN has been planned from the outset. The IKN Authority stated that projects for the Ministry of Defence, the State Intelligence Agency, the TNI, and the National Police are part of the infrastructure to be built in IKN. Furthermore, the TNI headquarters is indeed planned to be relocated to IKN as a consequence of the capital relocation, not due to a new policy to change IKN’s function into a military headquarters.

Therefore, the claim that President Prabowo is rejecting the capital relocation to IKN and requesting the TNI Commander to take over IKN for a military headquarters is false. To date, there is no official statement or government policy supporting this narrative.