The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila has denounced trending reports of a N10 billion provision in the 2024 budget for the renovation of his official residence.
Gbajabiamila in a statement released on Wednesday said the reports of such budgetary provision are false and erroneous.
Earlier reports had claimed that the President’s Chief of Staff was set to spend N10 billion for the reconstruction and repair of his official residence in Abuja but the former House of Representatives Speaker clarified that he lives in his personal house in Abuja and there is no provision in the 2024 Appropriation Bill for the renovation of any residence for the Chief of Staff to the President.
According to him, the sum erroneously credited to his office in the report is 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 wrote: “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.
“The sums proposed for these projects are clearly 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.”
