Tag: residence

•After spending N6 billion, the government should strive to complete the project

The latest excitement in town is unsettling — what to do, or what not to do, with the new official residence, still under construction, of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

After already sinking N6.21 billion into the project, over an eight-year period, the government cannot possibly abandon it now, can it? Still, in the last five years, work reportedly had stopped, thus prompting troubling questions.

First, that the level of work is allegedly far lower than the money so far sunk into it, thus raising the spectre of fraud and sundry corruption.

The contract was awarded in 2009, at a cost of N7 billion, out of which N6.215 billion was allegedly paid the contractors.

To start with, ab initio shelling out 89 per cent of a project cost would appear suspect, if not reckless. That didn’t show a government with a serious fall-back plan to protect itself, against any attempted sharp practices.

Indeed, the House of Representatives Committee on FCT is claiming only a half of the job is done, even if the contractors had collected almost 90 per cent of the project cost.

Then, there is the issue of an alleged five-year abandonment, simply because the Senate and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) could not agree on project variation. A N13 billion variation was first proposed, then lowered to N9 billion and finally to N6 billion.

Even if N6 billion variation had been accepted, that would have jacked up the price to N13.21 billion. How then could a well-conceived and soundly costed project flare so badly in such little space of time?

That again has raised an alarm over possible impropriety in the costing process. The question is: did this result from an honest mistake? Or was it a deliberate ploy to fleece the common purse? The government should get to the roots. However, that stalemate, over project variation, would appear to explain the five-year abandonment of the project.

That unfortunately, as things stand today, can only escalate costs, with the free fall in the naira’s parity to the dollar. So, it can be tempting, citing the current economic recession, to suspend or even abandon the project. But that would be the stiffest cost of all — and that is why it must not be an option.

Clearly, the new official quarters of the vice president is one of the many problematic projects the Buhari administration inherited from the Jonathan presidency. But in the interest of the taxpayer, the present government should do whatever it takes to solve the conundrum.

To start with, it should re-appraise the project. This it should do by investigating its history and progress — or lack of it— so far. If, along the way, it found out any sharp practices, whoever are involved, no matter how highly or lowly placed, should be made to face the music.

Still, the government should approach the exercise with an open mind, particularly, the contractor demands.

To be sure, it remains highly suspicious that a project initially generously funded, almost to the tune of 90 per cent, should come back to seek a major variation, when speed at completion ought to have motivated the initial blistering funding. It is not, therefore, impossible that those involved could be playing games, knowing they have a careless government exactly where they want it, and are determined to exploit the situation to the fullest. If that is the case, the government should not hesitate to squarely deal with the situation.

If however, after five years, the contractors are found to have a genuine case, the government should hammer out an agreement, so that the project can be completed.

The Buhari administration should take the project very seriously. It could, for instance, adopt phased completion as a strategy, to channel future funds.

Even with the economic strains, the official residence of the vice president should not join other abandoned projects.

•The plan to build a N16billion edifice for the VP is unacceptable and should be urgently reviewed by the Buhari administration

The proposed new residence for the Vice President within the Aso Villa has generated angry response from the public and calls for a quick decision by the Buhari administration.  The Jonathan administration had planned to expend N16 billion of the scarce federal resources on building and equipping the house. Already, N7 billion has been reportedly spent on the white elephant project and the contractors are demanding another N9 billion if they are to return to site.

The house is a reminder of the profligacy of that administration that abandoned so many areas of national life to pursue such luxury projects at a time the same government was commending austerity to the people.

When the project was conceived, the Jonathan administration’s response to the outrage it generated was that it was not out of place as the country required a befitting edifice for the second citizen and that it would enhance the country’s image. Officials of the Federal Capital Territory that were  saddled with the task of executing it were quick to point out that the American Vice President’s residence is even more grandiose. They were however unable to relate such plans with a comparison of the relative sizes of the Nigerian and American economies and the levels of development.

We recognise the dilemma of a more serious government in deciding what to do with the house which is said to be almost 80 per cent completed. Should it simply be abandoned; scaled down or converted to a more purposeful use? The onus is on President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to decide within their plans to turn around the national fortunes, what to do with the project. It is our view that abandoning it is not a viable option. It is unacceptable that any project on which N7 billion has been expended should be shelved.

We recommend that a review of the design, contract procedure and construction so far be instituted immediately. Second, the terms of the contract should be scrutinised by legal experts with a view to determining if the national interest was put in jeopardy.

A Federal Government that won the hearts and votes of Nigerians on the promise to transform the country and revamp values within the shortest possible time frame cannot afford to spend another N9 billion on a house for the vice president.

The Aguda House which officially houses the second citizen is adequate for the purpose. None of Mr. Namadi Sambo’s predecessors, military or civilian, ever complained about the residence. It is even more outrageous that the new plan was put in place after the former vice president had got the administration to spend more than N2 billion on his residence. In 2011, about N900 million was committed to refurbishing and furnishing the house to meet the taste of Mr. Sambo, an architect.  Such profligacy should have no place in our national life, and officials who have shown such proclivity should be shut out of high offices by a more discerning electorate. Since former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, made the unfortunate comment that Nigeria’s problem was not money but how to spend it, no government had given practical effect to the statement as the Jonathan administration.

In a few months, the Buhari administration would be presenting its first budget to the National Assembly. The government owes it a duty to walk its talk. We want to see a drastic reduction in estimates for feeding by the presidency which in the past years gulped an average N1 billion yearly, furnishing the official residences of the president, the vice president and other Federal Government officials. This would give the government the moral right to query any attempt by the National Assembly to ignore public opinion on its spending.

Millions of Nigerians who live below the poverty line, deprecate the ostentatious lifestyle of many of our public officials. The time to effect a change of attitude is now.