Presidency denies allocating funds to new official residence for Osinbajo

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said on Sunday that no money was earmarked for the proposed new official residence of the Vice President.



The acting president said in a statement by his media adviser, Laolu Akande, that the Buhari administration did not include the project in either the 2016 Appropriation Act or the 2017 proposed budget.

Mr. Osinbajo was refuting news reports that he budgeted N250 million for an iron gate to the proposed residence, which had been under construction since 2010, despite lingering economic crisis.

The reports quoted Kogi State senator, Dino Melaye, as saying penultimate Thursday that funds earmarked for the project will be probed by the Senate.

The acting president distanced himself from any budget for the residence, saying he repeated to Nigerians on many occasions that his current official residence, Aguda House, is “good enough.”

The administration placed progress status of the project at 85% completed and “will decide at the appropriate time what is the best use for the 14 buildings already on the project site,” Mr. Akande said.