Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who is currently acting as the President, has on Sunday said the Federal Government would at the appropriate time convert the new official residence being built for the Vice President to another use, according to Punch Newspaper.
Osinbajo said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, amid continued criticism of the project which is expected to gulp over N7b.
Akande said the decision to build the new residence preceded the present administration.
He said Osinbajoās position had remained that his present official residence, Akinola Aguda House, is good enough for him.
The statement read, āFor the umpteenth time, we like to clarify that the proposed plan of the immediate past administration to build a new official residence for the occupant of the Office of the Vice President, including the controversial gatehouse preceded this administration.
āThe project which started in 2010, was initiated and funded by the immediate past administration, but had never featured in the two budget proposals of the Buhari administration: neither in the 2016 nor the 2017 spending plans.
āAny suggestion therefore that this project benefits our administration or that it reflects our spending style or preferences is not only misleading but blatantly false.
āBesides, the incumbent Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has said publicly that he considers Aguda House, which he currently occupies, a befitting official residence for the Vice President and sufficient for his needs.
āWhile the project is now about 85% complete, the Federal Government, in the circumstances, will decide at the appropriate time what is the best use for the 14 buildings already on the project site.ā