The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, says the abandoned official residence of Nigeria’s Vice President would be completed before 29, May 2024.

In a media chat with selected journalists in Abuja, the former Rivers State Governor said needed funds would be made available to ensure the completion of the project before President Bola Tinubu celebrates his one year in office.

According to him, a construction giant, Julius Berger has assured that the project would be completed around April 2024

He said, “VP’s residence was awarded in 2010, it was abandoned for 13 good years. I called Julius Berger, can you finish this for me? He said yes.

“This project ought to be a national project but we have to bring it to the statutory budget so that we can finish the project before May 29”.

naptu2:
I am sure that many people will start arguing about this issue again without knowing the full story, so I'm going to tell you the full story, beginning from the early 1980s.


There has always been issues around the idea of Lagos being the capital of Nigeria. Some people did not want Lagos to be the capital and instead they wanted it to be joined to the Western Region. The Action Group even offered to pay the Federal Government to find another place to be the capital. Meanwhile, some people in Lagos did not want Lagos to be the capital, neither did they want Lagos to join the Western Region. They felt that Lagos could stand on its own (Gedegbe l’Eko wa) and they wanted a Lagos State.

There was also the problem of what will happen if one party controls the Federal Government and another party controls Lagos.

The search for a new capital began in the Gowon era, but General Gowon was overthrown before a new capital could be found. Justice Akinola Aguda headed the committee that eventually recommended the present FCT as the new capital and their recommendation was accepted by General Murtala Muhammed.

President Shehu Shagari took the idea of a new capital very seriously. I have previously told you about the friction between the NPN controlled Federal Government and the UPN controlled Lagos State Government. So President Shagari seriously wanted to move to Abuja. He held the first Independence Day parade in Abuja and therefore, the Akinola Aguda Lodge was built as a place for him to stay while he was in Abuja.

That is issue number 1. The Akinola Aguda House.

It was actually just a make-shift house, so that the president could stay there when he was in Abuja.


General Ibrahim Babangida also staged Independence Day parades in Abuja, but work on Abuja slowed down a bit because of the economic crisis.


There was a master plan for Abuja and in that master plan the presidential palace was meant to be at a certain location. However, no president has actually lived there. That place is now the Shehu Shagari Complex and it serves as the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

That is issue number 2, the Shehu Shagari Complex.


Three things happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (A) There was the very violent 1989 SAP riot (B) there was the very violent Orkar Coup in 1990 and (C) there was the Gulf War windfall.

A and B made President Babangida want to leave Lagos and C gave him the money to do it.


The Aso Rock Villa was built to serve as the new presidential palace. That area was originally meant to be a green area in the Abuja master plan.


That is issue number 3: The Aso Rock Villa


Now we are getting close to the most relevant issue.


The Federal Government moved to Abuja in 1991, but everything wasn't ready. It was important (for optics) that both Babangida and Aikhomu moved to Abuja. The service chiefs and others remained in Lagos, but Babangida and Aikhomu had to move to Abuja. But there was a problem. The Vice President's residence was not ready! So where would Aikhomu stay?


An agreement was reached. The Supreme Court was not ready to move to Abuja, but the Chief Justice's residence was ready. Therefore, Aikhomu would stay in the Chief Justice's residence.

That is issue 4: The Chief Justice's Residence.


Aikhomu, Diya, Aikhigbe and Atiku stayed at the Chief Justice's residence.


However, there was friction between Obasanjo and Atiku at the tail end of the Obasanjo era.

You see, Abacha had forced the Supreme Court to move to Abuja during the June 12 case and the Chief Justice now lived in temporary accommodation in Abuja. The Judiciary Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives then complained that the vice president was living in the chief justice's house. (I suspect that President Obasanjo had a hand in that complaint). The Federal Government then decided that the vice president should move into the Akinola Aguda House, so that the chief justice can take back the house that was originally built for him.

At this point I need to tell you more about the Akinola Aguda House.

I said that Akinola Aguda House was a makeshift house when Shagari lived there. It was decided that Aguda House should be the guest house of the president and that a befitting house should be built. The contract was awarded, but it kept dragging on. I remember when Jerry Useni was minister of the FCT. He kept promising that the house would be completed, but it was not completed.

Then Nigeria was to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2003 and it was decided that Akinola House should be rebuilt so that Queen Elizabeth could stay there for the summit. It was at this time that it was finally completed.

So they asked Atiku to go and live there. However, Aguda House was within the Aso Rock precinct and Atiku did not trust Obasanjo, so he refused to move there and instead moved into his private house in Abuja.


However, after the 2007 elections, Niger Delta militants attacked Dr Goodluck Jonathan's personal house in Bayelsa. Luckily he was not there at the time. The National Security Adviser therefore advised President Obasanjo that a safe place needed to be found for the vice-president-elect to stay. Eventually it was decided that he should stay at Akinola Aguda House, which is the presidential guest house.

All vice presidents since then; Namadi Sambo and Yemi Osinbajo, have stayed at Aguda House.

But I told you that Aguda House was the presidential guest house. So where was the vice president originally supposed to stay.


I told you that the vice president's residence was not ready when Admiral Aikhomu wanted to move to Abuja in 1991. It is still not ready today. They kept adding things to the complex and it became like a mini Aso Rock Villa. There's supposed to be a banquet hall, swimming pool, etc.

The National Assembly rejected the cost that was presented to it during the Goodluck Jonathan era and that stalled the project. In 2015 or 2016 Vice President Osinbajo said that it was a waste of money and that the Federal Government was not interested in spending money on it. Nothing has been done about it since then.

That is our 5th issue. The Vice President's Residence.


That is the background story behind this thread.


https://www.nairaland.com/7671831/vps-lodge-project-stalled-after

Soulsymbol99:
They way they go into projects that have no impact on the common man on the street is heartbreaking.

Thonyb:

https://.ng/2023/11/24/wike-to-complete-construction-of-abandoned-vp-residence-before-may-29/

Soulsymbol99:
They way they go into projects that have no impact on the common man on the street is heartbreaking.

LUAN:
they focus on project that only benefit politicians, from vehicles, to enjoyment allowance, to housing, etc. After them settle themselves finish them go come begin another campaign

Soulsymbol99:
The way they go into projects that have no impact on the common man on the street is heartbreaking.

Soulsymbol99:
They way they go into projects that have no impact on the common man on the street is heartbreaking.

Soulsymbol99:
They way they go into projects that have no impact on the common man on the street is heartbreaking.

ILoveNG:


They should share FCT money as palliative?

Soulsymbol99:
They way they go into projects that have no impact on the common man on the street is heartbreaking.