The way most pilots and convoys of top dignitaries to the Presidential Villa park their vehicles before the main gate to the Villa, is fast making the area lose its Presidential status.
While some of the drivers park their cars by the road side, others park on the flower beds and walk paths.
The rowdiness this situation creates gives a first-time visitor to the Villa an impression of disorderliness.
This scenario is mostly witnessed on Wednesdays during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings when vehicles numbering between three and five in a particular minister’s convoy are parked by the roadside leading to the main gate of the Presidential Villa.
In most cases, only one vehicle conveying the minister out of his or her convoy is allowed to go through the gate to drop the minister inside before joining others by the road side.
This situation is also experienced on most Mondays or Thursdays or any other day when security council meetings are held at the Villa.
The various escort cars and motorbikes belonging to the service chiefs and other top security agencies also litter the roadside during such meetings.
The vehicles conveying the service chiefs, Inspector-General of Police and National Security Adviser are among those that are allowed to park in the four courts of the Presidential Villa close to the President’s office.
The rowdiness is also witnessed on the road leading to the main gate any day state governors have one meeting or the other to attend at the Presidential Villa or when they are just paying a visit to the President or Vice-President in the State House.
During such days, only the car conveying the governor also is allowed through the gate. It will drop the governor inside the Villa before joining other vehicles in the governor’s convoy already packed by the road side.
The road leading to the main gate of the Presidential Villa is also jam parked when a major function is taking place inside the Banquet Hall. On such occasion, the Banquet Hall, which has a very large car park, is overstretched and the excess vehicles spill over to the roadside.
Even though the roadside parkings does not befit the Presidential status of the area, it sometimes offer useful information to some staff in the Villa on some of the secret meetings in progress at the State House.
Sighting the vehicles by the roadside, they could guess the dignitaries that are inside the Villa and what meeting was going on.
In the circumstances, efforts should be urgently taken to address this rowdy parking system in order not to rubbish the status of the Presidential Villa.
Apart from special occasions at the Banquet Hall when the large parking lot is filled to its capacity, the Banquet Hall parking lot is hardly half-filled on ordinary days and it should be able to accommodate the escort and pilot vehicles of ministers, service chiefs and governors during their meetings or visits to the Presidential Villa.
Alternatively, a new area in or around the Villa can be developed as parking lot to accommodate such escort and pilot vehicles thereby keeping them away from the roadside.
