By Wisdom Deji-Folutile
The Nigerian Government has budgeted no less than N66,060,697,842 for State House renovations and rehabilitation from 2016 – 2023.
This is according to an analysis conducted by AF24NEWS on the approved Appropriation budgets in the consideration period.
The 2023 Supplementary Budget, submitted on October 31 by President Bola Tinubu and passed by the National Assembly on November 2, had raised eyebrows due to the perceived profligacy of certain line items.
Analysis of budget data conducted by Dataphyte revealed that the State House had budgeted over ₦37bn for the repairs of residential and office buildings from 2016 to 2021. This included a sizeable N11.04bn budget in 2021.
State House covers the Nigerian President’s official residence Aso Villa, the official residences of the Vice President and other office complexes of the Presidency.
The 2023 Supplementary Budget, which was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on November 2 in just 48 hours, made provision for N16.5bn for State House renovations—the highest in the last 8 years.
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This is despite the fact that N7.3bn had already been earmarked for “rehabilitation/repairs” for the State House in the 2023 Appropriation Act.
In the 2022 budget, N5.2bn was earmarked for State House rehabilitation and repairs, with N5.1bn out of the total going to the renovation of office buildings.
Renovation and repair costs listed above for State House exclude maintenance costs. In the 2023 budget, for instance, a separate N7.2bn was set aside for “Annual Routine Maintenance of Mechanical/Electrical Installations of the Villa”.
Since 2020, FG has budgeted N83,120,369,048 for State House headquarters and State House operations for the office of President and Vice-President. This excludes money allocated to the Office of Chief of Staff, Chief Security Officer, State House Lagos Liason Office, and State House Medical Centre.
State House receives N16.5bn for renovations in 2023 Supplementary Budget
According to official data provided by the Budget Office of the Federation, the Presidency will receive N16,500,000 for acquisitions, renovations, and rehabilitation in the 2023 Supplementary budget. This is out of the N28bn total earmarked for State House, which included the replacement of operational pool vehicles (N2.9bn), construction of an office complex within State House (N4bn), and purchase of official vehicles for the “office of the first lady” (N1.5bn).
Among State House renovation costs for the 2023 supplementary budget is the renovation of Residential Quarters for President Bola Tinubu, a line item with a total budget amount of N4,000,000,000.
Also included is the renovation of Aguda House, earmarked at N2,500,000,000. Aguda House, originally conceived as a Presidential Lodge & Guest House Complex, is the Vice Presidential Complex. However, another renovation of the official quarters of the Vice President in Lagos is included as a separate line item, with another N3,000,000,000 budgeted for the project.
Recall that in 2016, former VP Yemi Osinbajo posited that there was “no need for a new residence for the Vice President”, reiterating that Aguda House was well-managed and up to standard.
Other renovation line items on the 2023 supplementary budget includes the Renovation of Dodan Barracks, a project that is expected to cost N4,000,000,000.
Dodan Barracks, located in Ikoyi, Lagos, was the official residence of the military heads of state of the Nigerian military juntas. It also served as the Supreme Military Headquarters from 1966 until the move to Abuja in 1991.
Two acquisitions—listed as “Acquisition, renovation and rehabilitation of 2nos. Efcc forfeited quarters as state house complex at Guzape” and “Acquisition, renovation and rehabilitation of 2nos. Efcc forfeited quarters as state House complex at Mabushi” are both earmarked at N1.5bn each.
Senate justifies swift action on 2023 Supplementary Budget
Meanwhile, despite public outcry, Nigeria’s Senate on Saturday explained that the two chambers of the National Assembly speedily passed the N2.17 trillion 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill within 48 hours in “national interest”.
Senator Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate, also serving as Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, argued that the legislative body was convinced that the items in the budget would sufficiently cushion the current effects of fuel subsidy removal.
Ndume’s explanation comes just as the Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, confirmed to journalists Saturday that there would be an emergency session on Monday to approve the votes and proceedings of Thursday’s plenary where the bill was passed.
Adaramodu said the passage of the votes and proceedings was to enable the National Assembly to transmit the fiscal document to the President for assent.
The budget was submitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.
The two chambers had then instantly adjusted their standing rules to ensure that the bill passed the first and second reading on that day.
It was referred to the committees on appropriation in the two chambers and members had only Wednesday to study it and invite heads of ministries, departments, and agencies of the federal government to defend their estimates in the document.
Heads of the nation’s security agencies and the service chiefs were also attended to behind closed doors on the same day.
The committees presented their joint report at plenary in the two chambers the following day (Thursday) and it was deliberated upon and approved without contributions from members on the floor.
However, Ndume told journalists that the National Assembly accelerated the budget passage in the interest of the country.
He cited the need to pay increments in workers’ salaries, the take-off of the students’ loan scheme, and the need to ensure the smooth running of newly created ministries as reasons for the speedy passage of the bill.
He said: “The increase in the prices of fuel, costs of essential services and food items have gone up in the country following the withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
“Workers embarked on strike many times as a result of this and there were negotiations between the organised labour and the federal government.
“At the end of the negotiations, the labour and the federal government agreed that workers would be paid N35,000 in addition to their minimum wage.
“If N35,000 is paid to each of the over 1.5 million workers and the money is captured in the supplementary budget, it is imperative for us to approve it for immediate implementation”.
Ndume also mentioned the need for road maintenance (N300bn), supplementing housing deficits (N100bn), payment of army personnel allowances, and securement of additional personnel for the Police Force to monitor upcoming elections (N20bn).
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