Over six weeks after assuming office, President Bola Tinubu has yet to occupy his official residence at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
While the President has been actively using
his private conference room, office space, and Aso Chambers for crucial
meetings with local and international guests, his official residence east of
the office remains unoccupied.
In the afternoon of May 29, hours after his
inauguration, Tinubu arrived at the State Banquet Hall for lunch with fellow
Heads of State and country representatives, who witnessed the ceremony at
Eagles Square, Abuja.
However, it is normal to see the President’s
convoy leaving the premises at the close of his work day, bypassing his
official residence, exiting the Villa, and heading for his Maitama private
mansion. The same applies to his daily resumption.
The reason could be the ongoing renovation
that began in late April when former President Buhari vacated the 32-year-old
structure for a temporary residence called the Glass House.
On May 6, 2023, weeks before Tinubu’s
inauguration, maintenance work began around the Villa. It encompassed recoating
worn-out portions with white paint, and a change of furniture in the green room
of the Council Chamber, among others.
A spokesman for Buhari, Garba Shehu, had
tweeted under a picture, “Painter at work. Villa wearing a new look for the
incoming President.”
A senior source in the State House had told
our correspondent that Tinubu, like his predecessors, was expected to decide
what kind of furniture would be installed in his official residence.
Although Buhari moved into his new residence
almost three weeks after his inauguration, Presidency sources confirmed the
delay to our correspondent and said the same could not be expected of the new
Commander-in-Chief, who is moving in eight years after a previous occupier.
The source stated, “These things are
relative. It is not fixed at all. Goodluck Jonathan stayed for five years, and
Buhari stayed for eight years. So, the level of repairs that needs to be done
this time must have increased.
“There may be major alterations they are
trying to do. For example, the Council Chamber we use today didn’t have all the
technology it has now.
“There was a point during Baba’s (Buhari’s)
tenure that it had to be shut down completely because they wanted to upgrade
it. We were using the First Lady’s conference room for Federal Executive
Council meetings at that time. And it took a long time to effect the changes.”
Another source said, “It’s also about
individual choices, what you want in a place. But he (Tinubu) occupied the
office as soon as he came in.”
On June 10, a security source confided in our
correspondent, “He (Tinubu) has not moved in because maintenance is still on.”
Meanwhile, our correspondent also confirmed
that the Aso Rock Chapel had been actively holding weekly meetings even though
the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has yet to worship there.
The First Lady had stated that the President
had not appointed a chaplain for the Aso Villa Chapel after the exit of the
former Chaplain, Seyi Malomo.
Mrs Tinubu, in a statement last Monday, said
the President reserved the right to appoint a chaplain while debunking claims
on social media platforms that the Aso Villa Chapel had been closed down.
She said, “Our attention has been drawn to a
story on social media about the purported closure of the Aso Rock Chapel by the
First Lady; we wish to state categorically that this is a fabrication and a
false representation of the true situation.
“The First Lady at no time gave such a
directive that the chapel be shut nor asked for the keys to be handed over to
her.”
At the time of filing this report, the former
chaplain could not be reached.
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