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‘Confusion at Aso Rock’ as Buhari fails to
move in.
One week after the inauguration of
Muhammadu Buhari as president and Yemi
Osinbajo as vice president, both men are
yet to settle into the presidential villa, the
country’s seat of power.
Although Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate
past president and Namadi Sambo, his
deputy, took Buhari and Osinbajo on a
familarisation tour of the villa a day before
handing over, their successors only hosted
the inauguration dinner at Aso Rock and
have been operating from different locations
ever since.
While Buhari has been performing his
duties at the defence house, official
residence of the president-elect where he
met with service chiefs on Wednesday,
Osinbajo has been operating from his
private residence in the Asokoro area of
Abuja.
Buhari does not reside at the defence house,
situated in the Mataima area of the federal
capital territory (FCT). He only hosts visitors
there, and returns to his private residence at
Aso Drive, still in the FCT.
A state house correspondent told TheCable
that the current development is affecting a
lot of things.
“There is so much confusion at the
moment. We don’t go to the villa anymore.
The key staff like security, protocol and
media have resumed at defence house,” he
said.
“We just resume and hope to cover one
assignment or the other. It is not a
conducive place to hang around because
there are not enough seats. Nothing
happened at the defence house today
(Friday).
“We were told to go to his [Buhari’s]
residence at Aso Drive for some
assignments only for us to get there to
discover that they had finished. We went to
the mosque after we left the house and it
has been very quiet since then.
“We heard this might continue for another
two weeks or more.”
Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the
president on media and publicity, said
Buhari had yet to move to the villa because
his official residence was not ready for
habitation.
“As far as the president is concerned, the
place (his official residence) is not ready
yet,” he told Punch. “Workers are cleaning
and refurbishing the place. Once the
exercise is completed, the president will
move in.”
But some Nigerians have expressed
dissatisfaction with Shehu’s response.
“I read what was attributed to Shehu and I
shook my head. What do they take us for?”
asked Sanya Ladenobi, a businessman
based in Lagos.
“Even if we are to believe that the official
residence is being rehabilitated, what about
the offices? I just don’t see any reason in all
this. Could they be carrying out some
spiritual cleansing or what, because this is
Africa where a lot happen.”
Michael Otobo, a civil servant in Abuja, is of
the opinion that the government is not
starting on a good note.
“Some people are saying it is too early to
make comments about this government
without knowing that every minute in the
life of any nation counts,” he said.
“This administration had eight weeks for
planning, eight solid weeks. For me, I feel
the government has hit the ground
crawling, as against the running it
promised.
“Osinbajo in Sudan, Buhari in Niger, Chad
and Germany. International travels would
always be there every other day, but your
first impression as a government would not
be there.
“Five days in our expectant national life, yet
no ministers, no economic plan, even the
15 advisers, we don’t know. The
government with the largest goodwill in the
nation’s history has to sit up.
“We have just been getting different
rumours on appointment. Time is of
essence.”