Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has debunked reports making the rounds that a significant amount of money was budgeted for the renovation of his residence in the 2024 Appropriation Bill.
There were reports that part of the N27.5 trillion budget presented by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly last Wednesday was earmarked for the renovation of the Chief of Staff’s residence.
The reports claim that the sum of N10 billion was budgeted for the renovation of the Chief of Staff’s residence, while another N10.1 billion was also set aside for his computer software.
But Gbajabiamila, in a post on his official X account on Wednesday, said there was no provision in the 2024 Appropriation Bill for the renovation of his residence, stressing that he lives in his private apartment.
He maintained the amount quoted online was for the renovation of the Presidential Quarters in Dodan Barracks and the Vice President’s Lodge in Lagos.
“I have seen social media commentary regarding the 2024 Appropriation Bill, particularly the provisions under the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President. Owing to the erroneous nature of these reports, it has become necessary to clarify that there is no provision in the 2024 Appropriation Bill for the renovation of any residence for the Chief of Staff to the President. I live in my private residence.
“The sums mischievously quoted by online bloggers and fake news merchants are for renovating the Presidential Quarters in Dodan Barracks and the Vice President’s Lodge in Lagos, to overhaul the information management and communications facilities in the Presidency to meet modern standards and to provide vehicles for the staff of the Presidency,” he said.
Gbajabiamila explained that the sums earmarked for these projects are stated in the budget proposal and bear no resemblance to the deceptive online commentary.
“This administration welcomes and encourages scrutiny of government expenditure; this is why the Budget proposal is publicly available. However, healthy public debate about government actions requires us to be responsible with our utterances and engage based on facts rather than insinuations and falsehoods,” he added.
