The federal government has barred journalists from covering the tour of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s N21 billion official residence. Eugenia Abu, the moderator of the inauguration ceremony, announced this on Friday while listing guests who would join President Bola Tinubu on a private tour of the residence. She stated that the VP’s official residence was private and coverage was prohibited.
“The people that will be following the president into the residence for a guided tour include all serving national assembly members, all members of the federal executive council, and top-ranking officials such as the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Deputy Chief of Staff, and the Julius Berger Team,” she announced. “There will be no press; there will be no coverage. This is the official residence of His Excellency, the Vice President; it is a private space. Those given the privilege to come along have been carefully chosen. I’d like to advise that we have no press, no coverage, no media.”
In December, the office of the Vice President attracted criticism after plans to renovate and build an official residence worth N15 billion went viral. However, Stanley Nkwocha, spokesperson for the Vice President, defended the project, stating it was not a wasteful venture. During Friday’s inauguration, Nyseom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), stated that the federal government spent N21 billion on the renovation and completion of the residence.
“This project was awarded in 2010, 14 years ago, for the vice president’s residence, and 14 years later, we are commissioning it. It was awarded at the cost of N7 billion in 2010 and was abandoned in 2015,” Wike said. “In January this year, we had a revised budget to make it N21 billion, increasing it from N7 billion to an additional N14 billion.”