NewsNigeriaPoliticsPresident Tinubu Completes Abandoned VP’s Official Residence After 14 Years

In a significant milestone, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commissioned the long-abandoned official residence of the Vice President, completing a project that had been stalled for 14 years.

The state-of-the-art structure cost N21 billion and was awarded in 2010 but abandoned in 2015. The Tinubu administration reviewed and revived the project in January 2024, and it has now been completed with world-class facilities.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on Friday, President Tinubu emphasised his administration’s commitment to completing inherited projects and ensuring accountability, transparency, and good governance.

He noted that abandoning projects after substantial expenditure is wasteful and that his government is dedicated to delivering on its promises.

“As we commission this state-of-the-art edifice as the official residence of the Vice President, we are fulfilling a longstanding commitment and reaffirming our unwavering dedication to accountability, transparency and efficient utilisation of resources for the betterment of our nation,” The President, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said.

“I hold a very strong opinion that abandoning projects after substantial expenditure have been incurred is inherently wasteful, and it is in the best interest of the Government and the public to see them through to completion.”

President Tinubu also thanked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Administration for making the completion of the residence a reality within his one year in office.

In his remarks, Wike expressed gratitude to the President for his unwavering commitment to the project. He praised the contractors, Julius Berger, for their efficiency and reliability, and acknowledged the importance of the new residence in providing a comfortable and secure environment for the Vice President to work and live.

“If you don’t stay in a good environment, you cannot put in your best. Environment affects productivity and efficiency. By the time you are inside and see what is provided, I’m sure Mr Vice President will be encouraged to do more work than where he stays now,” Wike said.

The new residence of the Vice President located adjacent to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has an office for the Wife of the Vice President, a mosque, a chapel and recreational facilities, among others.

The Vice President’s official residence is the eighth critical project inaugurated by President Tinubu in the FCT to mark his one year in office.

Present at the commissioning were Minister of State for FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud; President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin; Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT Area Councils, David Jimkuta; Chairman, House Committee on FCT, Hon. Aliyu Muktar Betara, and Chairman, House Committee on FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, Hon. Agbedi Fred.

Others were Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Goronyo, and Minister of State for Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.