There is no proposal in the 2017 budget to build a N250 million gatehouse for the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The Senior Special Assistant Media in the Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, made the rebuttal in a statement on Sunday.
Opposition Senator, Ben Bruce, had questioned the item, which he said was included in the budget estimate in 2017.
Bruce said the provision is outrageous.
But Akande clarified that the proposed plan of the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration to build a new official residence for the occupant of the Office of the Vice President, including the controversial gatehouse, preceded this administration.
He said: “The project, which started in 2010, was initiated and funded by the immediate past administration, but had never featured in the two budget proposals of the Buhari administration: neither in the 2016 nor the 2017 spending plans.
“Any suggestion therefore that this project benefits our administration or that it reflects our spending style or preferences is not only misleading but blatantly false.
“Besides, the incumbent Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has said publicly that he considers Aguda House, which he currently occupies, a befitting official residence for the Vice President and sufficient for his needs.
“While the project is now about 85 per cent complete, the Federal Government, in the circumstances, will decide at the appropriate time what is the best use for the 14 buildings already on the project site.”
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