The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says plans are underway to spend N15 billion for the construction of a new residence for the nation’s vice-president.

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), disclosed this on Wednesday when he appeared before a house of representatives committee to defend the FCT N61.5 billion 2023 supplementary budget.

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu transmitted the N67 billion FCT supplementary budget to the national assembly, while seeking accelerated approval.

Following the president’s request, the lower legislative chamber quickly passed the bill for first and second reading.

Wike told the lawmakers that the construction of a new residence for the vice-president was approved in 2010 by the federal executive council (FEC) at the cost of N7 billion, but that the project was abandoned.

The minister said the current administration has opted to initiate the construction of the project, and the contractor has revised the cost to N15 billion.

Wike said an initial sum of N5 billion has been earmarked in the FCT supplementary budget to get the project underway.

“The VP residence that was awarded in 2010 at the cost of N7 billion was abandoned,” Wike said.

“It is embarrassing that a country of this nature cannot in 13 years, complete the VP’s residence. N7 billion, now the contractor is saying well, we cannot continue to do it without review.

“Now they are saying N15 billion. We have taken it upon ourselves to say that we will complete it and Mr. President will commission it by May.”

However, the lawmakers questioned the minister on why he plans to spend such an amount on building an edifice for the vice-president.

Responding, Wike said it is to give the vice-president a “befitting residence”.

“The current residence was built by the military, the Aguda house. The government then said look, we want to build a more befitting residence for the vice-president, and that was in 2010,” he said.

“The contract was awarded at the cost of N7 billion. It is just like what we are building for the presiding officers of the national assembly, you can see that it has been abandoned because of no funding.

“We believe that we are going to incorporate it into our own statutory budget. Let us finish it even if they don’t want to use it.

“We are not renovating. It is a new job that was approved in 2010. We are saying that we should be able to finish it and we will commission it in May 2023.”

• Renovation Of VP’s Office In Supplementary Budget

On November 8, President Bola Tinubu signed the 2023 N2.17 trillion supplementary budget into law.

In the 2023 supplementary appropriation Act, the federal government allocated N2.5 billion for the renovation of the Aguda house.

Another N3 billion is earmarked in the 2023 supplementary budget for the renovation of the vice-president’s residence in Lagos state.

The government also earmarked N4 billion for the refurbishing of presidential residential quarters and an additional N4 billion for the construction of an office complex within the state.

• N2.8 Billion For Publicity

Wike said the sum of N2.8 billion will be spent on publicity for the FCTA in the FCT supplementary budget.

“If you look at publicity and advert, N60 million was appropriated but increased to N2.8 billion,” he said.

“Some people would ask, how come N2.8 billion? You use money to make money. When I came on board, we realised that most people don’t pay their ground rents.

“For instance, we published those applying for C of O of mass housing estates. We have gotten presidential approval to decertify C of O.”

Former minister of state for defence, Musiliu Obanikoro,  has narrated how N1.219 billion cash was airlifted to Ayodele Fayose, former Ekiti state governor, in 2014.

Giving evidence as a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, Obanikoro told the court that he received the money from Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), as directed by Fayose.

“I was a minister under Jonathan’s administration in 2014. Sometime in 2014, we were going to have an election in Ekiti State. I was saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the activities in the election,” Obanikoro said.

“Some days before the election, I got a call from governor Fayose asking me if I received any message for him from ONSA, I can recall that prior to that, we had some activities among which was fundraising for the purpose of that election.

“When Mr. Fayose called, I told him I would call him later. I had a phone conversation with the NSA and was told he would get back to me. After, he got back to me that N2.2 billion was paid into the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd.”

The former minister said he did not know the source of the funds, adding that “only the NSA can explain the source of the fund”.

“I handed over the N1.219 million cash to Agbele for onward delivery to Fayose. I did not take any money or N19 million, contrary to a  publication by a Lagos-based online platform,” he said.

When asked about his relationship with Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd, the former minister stated that “the account was created to deal with the issue of Boko Haram in Lagos”.

“The account was created by Taiwo Kareem and was used for the purpose of disbursing funds for election,” he added.

“I put a call through to let Fayose know that the money had been paid.

“Diamond Bank had said it did not have the capacity to make the funds available, so we opted to airlift the funds.  The funds were airlifted from Lagos in two tranches, the volume was much.

“Myself, my ADC and my security orderly were there, including a top aide of  Fayose to meet Mr. Agbele, the bank manager. I instructed my orderly to escort Mr Agbele and ensure the safe delivery of the money.

“We airlifted the funds from Lagos in two tranches because the aircraft could not accommodate the funds. We used two aircraft and I was in one of the aircraft.”

Nnamdi Dimgba, the presiding judge, adjourned the matter to February 27, 2024 for continuation of trial.

Fayose is being prosecuted by the EFCC, alongside his firm, Spotless Investment Limited, following their alleged involvement in N6.9 billion money laundering.

Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday said his administration is targeting a 3.76 percent economic growth in the 2024 fiscal year.

This was as he spotlighted national security, local job creation and poverty reduction as the top priorities of the 2024 Appropriation Bill which he called the ‘Budget of Renewed Hope.’

“A critical focus of this budget and the medium-term expenditure framework is Nigeria’s commitment to a greener future…We expect the economy to grow by a minimum of 3.76 per cent, above the forecasted world average. Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 per cent in 2024,” Tinubu said when he presented the 2024 budget proposal to a joint session of the 10th National Assembly in Abuja, his first since assuming office exactly six months ago.

Addressing the NASS, Tinubu promised to overhaul the nation’s internal security architecture to enhance law enforcement capabilities to safeguard lives, property and investments nationwide.

He said the proposed budget prioritises human capital development, with particular attention given to children because human capital remains the most critical resource for national development.

Therefore, “To improve the effectiveness of our budget performance, the government will focus on ensuring value for money, greater transparency, and accountability.

“In this regard, we will work more closely with development partners and the private sector,” he explained.

“To address long-standing issues in the education sector, a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education will be implemented, including the Student Loan Scheme scheduled to become operational by January 2024,” Tinubu added.

On the economy, Tinubu argued that a stable macroeconomic environment is crucial in his administration’s quest to catalyse private investment and accelerate economic growth.

Consequently, he affirmed that his administration shall continue to implement business and investment-friendly measures for sustainable growth.

Giving a breakdown of the 2024 Appropriation Bill, the President said: “Accordingly, an aggregate expenditure of N27.5tn is proposed for the Federal Government in 2024, of which the non-debt recurrent expenditure is N9.92tn while debt service is projected to be N8.25tn and capital expenditure is N8.7tn. Nigeria remains committed to meeting its debt obligations. Projected debt service is 45 per cent of the expected total revenue.

“The budget deficit is projected at N9.18tn in 2024 or 3.88 per cent of GDP. This is lower than the N13.78tn deficit recorded in 2023, which represented 6.11 per cent of GDP. The deficit will be financed by new borrowings totalling N7.83tn, N298.49bn from Privatisation Proceeds, and N1.05tn draw down on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.”