Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday said the controversies
surrounding the construction of a vice president’s residence is not the
making of the current administration, but that of the Goodluck Jonathan
administration.
He also said that he was comfortable with his
Aguda House, which he currently occupies, describing it as a befitting
official residence for the Vice President (VP) and sufficient for his
needs.
He suggested that the proposed new official residence for
the VP, an ongoing project expected to gulp over N7billion, should
rather be converted by the Federal Government into best use.
Acting
President Osinbajo’s statement is coming on the heels of varying
criticism surrounding the proposed official residence for the VP.
Dino
Melaye, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Federal
Capital Territory, recently hinted that just the security post, known
otherwise as the gate house, will cost as much as N250million.
However,
Osinbajo in a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on
Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, explained that the decision to
build the new residence and the controversial gatehouse was not the
initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
“For the
umpteenth time, we like to clarify that the proposed plan of the
immediate past administration to build a new official residence for the
occupant of the Office of the Vice President, including the
controversial gatehouse preceded this administration.
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“The
project which started in 2010, was initiated and funded by the
immediate past administration, but had never featured in the two budget
proposals of the Buhari administration: neither in the 2016 nor the 2017
spending plans.
“Any suggestion therefore that this project
benefits our administration or that it reflects our spending style or
preferences is not only misleading but blatantly false.
“Besides,
the incumbent Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has said
publicly that he considers Aguda House, which he currently occupies, a
befitting official residence for the Vice President and sufficient for
his needs.
“While the project is now about 85 per cent complete,
the Federal Government, in the circumstances, will decide at the
appropriate time what is the best use for the 14 buildings already on
the project site,” the statement read.
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