The Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministration has taken a step further in its perceived profligacy following reports that the government renovated the Vice President’s officials residents in Lagos and Abuja with an whopping over N5 billion.
The is the umpteenth time that the administration has come under severe criticisms from Nigerians for being so insensitive to the current economic situation in the country.
Not a few Nigerians are shocked that so much could be expended on the official residence of the vice president at a time they are going through a devastating economic hardship.
The huge amount could have a positive impacts on the suffering people, who have been affected by the harsh economic policies of the administration, critics of the government said.
The Punch reports that the funds for the renovation of Vice President Kassim Shettima officials residence in Lagos, has been captured in the 2024 Budget of the federal government.
According to the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget passed in November 2023, the federal government had budgeted N3 billion for the renovation of the vice president’s official residence in Lagos State and another N2.5 billion for the renovation of his official residence located within the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
Citing GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the federal government’s spending, the newspaper revealed that a total of N5,034,077,063 was spent in May and September this year for the renovation of the VP’s Lagos residence.
A monthly breakdown of the amount showed that on May 31, 2024, the State House paid N2,827,119,051 to an engineering firm, Denderi Investment Limited, for the renovation of the official quarters of the vice president in Lagos.shuffles
Similarly, on September 5, 2024, the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President paid the same firm N726,748,686 for additional renovation work on the vice president’s Lagos home.
On the same day, the Chief of Staff’s office paid N1,480,209,326 to the same firm for Phase 2 renovations of the vice president’s Lagos residence.
Instructively, the administration has been trenchantly criticised by not a few Nigerians for spending a hugely N15 billion for the construction of a new official residence for the vice president in Aso Rock, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Other alleged profligacy by the Tinubu’s administration include the purchase of a yacht and presidential aircraft for the Presidency barely one year after it came to power.