Osinbajo Rejects New Official Residence for Vice President

• Says Aguda House good enough for him

By Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

The Office of the Vice President yesterday said that the federal government would decide what to do with the new official residence built for the vice president by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande said the incumbent vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, was satisfied with living in Aguda House built in the 1990s by the General Ibrahim Babangida administration

He said that the new residence for the vice president, which already has 14 buildings almost completed, was not originated by the present administration.

He also said that since the administration came on board in 2015, it had not committed a dime to the project.

He said: “For the umpteenth time, we would 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.

“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, 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 new project is now about 85% 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.”

Eyebrows were raised last week when the National Assembly queried the N250 million allocated to the construction of a gatehouse for the new official residence for the country’s vice president which has already gulped billions of naira.

It will be the second time the cost of constructing the exorbitant residence has raised dust in the National Assembly.