Anti-Corruption Group Condems N6.36bn Allocation for Renovation of Presidential Residences.

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has strongly criticised the N6.36bn budgetary allocation for the renovation and rehabilitation of the residential quarters of President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and their aides in the 2025 budget proposal.

The proposal includes N765m for the renovation of the Vice President’s quarters and guest house, N6.39m for the President’s quarters at the State House, and N49m for security quarters, the presidential auditorium, gymnasium, and aides’ quarters, among other expenditures.

This latest allocation follows a previous N2.17tn supplementary budget passed in November 2023, which included N3bn for the Vice President’s residence in Lagos and N2.5bn for his official quarters in Abuja.

Additionally, President Tinubu inaugurated the N21bn official residence for Shettima in 2024.

Debo Adeniran, Executive Director of CACOL, expressed concern over the renovation, arguing that the properties had already been renovated frequently by previous occupants.

He described the renovations as unnecessary and wasteful, stating that such spending was out of touch with Nigeria’s urgent socio-economic needs.

“Government officials live in immoral opulence while critical issues like security, education, and essential worker training are neglected,” Adeniran remarked, stressing that these lavish expenditures drain resources that could be better used to address the country’s poverty and infrastructure deficits.

Auwal Rafsanjani, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), echoed these concerns, describing the renovation as unnecessary, given that similar work had been done in 2023.

He stated that with Nigeria’s pressing economic challenges, including high inflation and poverty, the funds should be redirected to more urgent areas, such as healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation.

Both advocacy groups argue that the proposed expenditure further deepens the disconnect between government priorities and the needs of ordinary Nigerians.