Despite rising inflation and widespread economic hardship, Nigeria’s Federal Government has allocated N5 billion to renovate the vice president’s official residence in Lagos, financial records reveal.
In a supplementary budget of N2.17 trillion passed in November 2023, the government initially budgeted N3 billion for renovating the Lagos residence and an additional N2.5 billion for the vice president’s official quarters in Aso Rock, Abuja.
However, GovSpend, a civic technology platform tracking government spending, shows a total expenditure of N5.03 billion this year for the Lagos renovations.
Records indicate that on May 31, the State House paid Denderi Investment Limited, an engineering firm, N2.83 billion for renovation work on the Lagos residence. On September 5, the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President made additional payments to the same firm: N726.7 million for further renovations and N1.48 billion for Phase 2 of the project.
In November 2023, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike disclosed a separate N15 billion plan for a new vice presidential residence in Abuja, sparking backlash from civic groups. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) described the spending as a breach of the Nigerian Constitution, citing the high cost of debt servicing, which is set to account for 30% of Nigeria’s 2024 budget.
SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare called the project a “grave violation of public trust.” Other civic leaders, including Auwal Rafsanjani of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, questioned the government’s commitment to reducing governance costs, while Debo Adeniran, Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, stressed the need for constitutional reforms to curb government spending.