Amidst recession, Buhari to spend highest amount on Presidential Villa since assuming office
The president’s office will spend N1.1 billion for the “construction of (the) presidential wing at the State House Medical Centre" that Mr Buhari seldom uses.

By Yusuf Akinpelu

Nigeria’s economy may be in a recession and the country may not have enough money to fund its 2021 budget but this has not deterred the Muhammadu Buhari administration from allocating its highest amount ever to the State House including the ‘presidential wing’ of a hospital the president seldom uses.

President Muhammadu Buhari will spend N17.3 billion this year to run the State House, Nigeria’s seat of power, details of the assented 2021 budget have shown.

About N3.4 billion of this approved expenditure will be spent on feeding and travel expenses for the offices of the president and the vice president. The former gets about N2.6 billion and the latter, about N873 million.

The N17.3 billion is the highest amount budgeted for running of the nation’s headquarters since Mr Buhari assumed office in 2015, comparison of the approved budget figures in those years show.

Last year, Nigeria’s administrative centre had N14.6 billion for its running. This was an increase from the N13.7 billion in 2019; N15.5 billion was allocated in 2018; in 2017, N13.6 billion was allocated; and N16.6 billion in 2016.

These allocations are higher than what was earmarked in the latter years of Mr Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who in 2014, approved N12.2 billion for the State House and N6.6 billion in 2015.

The 2021 allocation covers the State House Headquarters, the president’s office and the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. It also covers the budgets of the State House medical centre, the offices of the chief of staff and chief security officer and the Lagos liaison office.

The breakdown of the allocation shows that the State House Headquarters and its medical centre will spend about N11.1 billion and N641.2 million on their activities respectively.

The president approved about N3.8 billion for his office, while N1.1 billion has been penned for the vice president’s office.

The office of the chief of staff to the president will run on a N76.6 million budget this year. The chief security officer, N357.9 million and the Lagos Liaison Office, N300.7 million.

Specifics
Amidst uncertainties fuelled by dip in oil prices and COVID-19 pandemic, both of which contributed to sliding the nation’s economy into the worst recession in about three decades, with about a quarter of this year’s budget to be funded by debt, the president’s office will spend N1.1 billion for the “construction of (the) presidential wing at the State House Medical Centre.”

This amount is more than the budgeted amounts for the entire state house medical centre in each of the last five years.

It is also more than the amount slated for the capital projects in 12 of the 20 listed federal medical centres in the 2021 budget, with the exception being those of Abeokuta, Abuja, Bayelsa, Delta, Katsina, Kebbi, Taraba, and Zamfara.

Meanwhile, about N416.7 million was budgeted for the same purpose last year. It is unclear how much was released for the project from the 2020 budget, which is one of the constituency projects contained in both year’s budgets.

Many Nigerians have criticised President Buhari and his family for always travelling abroad when sick despite the existence of the State House clinic and other hospitals in the country. It is unclear if such medical tourism will cease after the expenditure of the N1.1 billion for the “construction of (the) presidential wing at the State House Medical Centre.”

Also in the budget, the State House Headquarters will get N399.4 million for feeding. The maintenance and purchase of vehicles will gulp N569.3 million while building of new and the rehabilitation of old office and residential buildings will cost N5.8 billion.

Again, comparatively, the latter amount is more than the capital budgets of all the listed 20 federal medical centres and 21 teaching hospitals in the year’s budget.

Although the exact release for last year’s budget is unclear yet, rehabilitation of some buildings in the State House alone had N4.1 billion approved for 2020.

A flurry of projects, mostly constituency projects, featured in the 2020 budget and were repeated in this year’s appropriation act, suggesting money was not released for them last year.

A classic example is the recurring clamour by the vice-president’s office to purchase shredding machine, spiral binder, vacuum cleaners and air sucker at N5.7 million. Last year, N3 million was penned for the same purpose.

In addition, the office is poised to also purchase two photocopying machines and their accessories for N13.6 million. Last year, N8.3 million was approved for the same number of photocopiers and their consumables.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/438168-amidst-recession-buhari-to-spend-highest-amount-on-presidential-villa-since-assuming-office.html

Arrrrrrrh

SilverNorGold:
LOL! A mere N17.3 billion to run THE SEAT OF POWER? And some people are complaining? Chai, Nigerians, we should be ashamed of ourselves! This is an amount E-money spends a week! This is an amount Davido blows a month! In fact, go to Lagos... You will see big boys spending WAY MORE in clubs, like it's NOTHING! Yet some still complaining? Nigerians we should be ashamed!

I am really sad, I must be blunt!

But e go better!

To give you a strong knock dey hungry me, Mtcheeew !!!!


People like you are the problem of Nigeria. You want to be cloud some people with your baseless and worthless analysis. I thought you should have known how those individuals make thier money?

Your comment on nairaland pertaining buhari is often cantankerous to me, remove that veil from your eyes, stop seeing delusion, see reality.

If you are talking about Emoney and the rest, does that money belong to Nigerians? But the money Buhari is using belong to Nigerians at large. You are calling it mare, but that amount can make you a billionaire in one day. That amount can make your generation to Become rich. And yet because of your deluded mind set, all you could call it is 'mare'?

I don't know how people think, instead of them to use their no. 6 they will prefer no.1 so pathetic!!!

LOL! A mere N17.3 billion to run THE SEAT OF POWER? And some people are complaining? Chai, Nigerians, we should be ashamed of ourselves! This is an amount E-money spends a week! This is an amount Davido blows a month! In fact, go to Lagos... You will see big boys spending WAY MORE in clubs, like it's NOTHING! Yet some still complaining? Nigerians we should be ashamed!

I am really sad, I must be blunt!

But e go better!

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13038114_untitledfgr_jpegcd37c46c4dbd50995186d63fb9c55143

Ok

Truth be told, we don't have leaders in this country. What we have are political bandits, they're not even trying to pretend to work or make the country progress. They're blatantly, obviously and voraciously running the country aground. I mean they are doing the opposite of what they are elected to do.

If bandits were to be our president today, what would they have done differently from what our current leaders are doing?

God bless the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Pmb

Buhari is a failure, anyday, anytime. Keep deceiving your gullible followers. Nonsense and ingredients

What a tone deaf POS.

SilverNorGold:
LOL! A mere N17.3 billion to run THE SEAT OF POWER? And some people are complaining? Chai, Nigerians, we should be ashamed of ourselves! This is an amount E-money spends a week! This is an amount Davido blows a month! In fact, go to Lagos... You will see big boys spending WAY MORE in clubs, like it's NOTHING! Yet some still complaining? Nigerians we should be ashamed!

I am really sad, I must be blunt!

But e go better!

A mere 17billion u said At this point in time, anyone trying to justify the excesses of this govt is damn right devilish. A country where 48% of it's citizens are living in extreme poverty ie below $2 per day, a country where unemployment rate is at the roof top, a country where the students have been at home for almost a year, a country so clueless that it still practices normadic farming in 2021, a country that has no working refinery where as the state of Texas alone has about 47 refineries.
I don't know how those that defend this act do sleep at night.. I guess we've not actually had an experience of what true leadership is, in this country, and that's why we celebrate mediocrity.
A former president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica donated about 90 percent of his salary, but here despite recession and hardship, Buhari increased his personal allocation. Is he human

We love him that way

Self centered government

Government without direction....everything have an end.

Wasteful mafias!

SilverNorGold:
LOL! A mere N17.3 billion to run THE SEAT OF POWER? And some people are complaining? Chai, Nigerians, we should be ashamed of ourselves! This is an amount E-money spends a week! This is an amount Davido blows a month! In fact, go to Lagos... You will see big boys spending WAY MORE in clubs, like it's NOTHING! Yet some still complaining? Nigerians we should be ashamed!

I am really sad, I must be blunt!

But e go better!

You are so boring. I wonder if you sell BOREhole

SilverNorGold:
LOL! A mere N17.3 billion to run THE SEAT OF POWER? And some people are complaining? Chai, Nigerians, we should be ashamed of ourselves! This is an amount E-money spends a week! This is an amount Davido blows a month! In fact, go to Lagos... You will see big boys spending WAY MORE in clubs, like it's NOTHING! Yet some still complaining? Nigerians we should be ashamed!

I am really sad, I must be blunt!

But e go better!

You are so boring. I wonder if you sell BOREhole

Bubu is working tirelessly to make the country work, that's why he wants to spend that much.


I think they just copy and paste same thing every year in their budget with little changes.

Recession is for the masdes

APC.....Change!


Shofferin and shemailing...

SilverNorGold:
LOL! A mere N17.3 billion to run THE SEAT OF POWER? And some people are complaining? Chai, Nigerians, we should be ashamed of ourselves! This is an amount E-money spends a week! This is an amount Davido blows a month! In fact, go to Lagos... You will see big boys spending WAY MORE in clubs, like it's NOTHING! Yet some still complaining? Nigerians we should be ashamed!

I am really sad, I must be blunt!

But e go better!

Chief, A mad man’s brain is better than the relaxer in your skull..

Buhari was exhumed from daura and assumed into office so that his brothers will claim all the land in Nigeria as theirs.

Everybody don wise up now e go soon clear dem for eyes.

Thieves

Babandia27:
God bless the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

See this one

Leopold

Stalin

Hitler

Buhari....

Badoo

That's wastage of the highest order

SilverNorGold:
LOL! A mere N17.3 billion to run THE SEAT OF POWER? And some people are complaining? Chai, Nigerians, we should be ashamed of ourselves! This is an amount E-money spends a week! This is an amount Davido blows a month! In fact, go to Lagos... You will see big boys spending WAY MORE in clubs, like it's NOTHING! Yet some still complaining? Nigerians we should be ashamed!

I am really sad, I must be blunt!

But e go better!

It's either you're stupid or vain.