The proposed vice president villa which has reportedly gulped N7 billion has been abandoned by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) due to the demand of N9b from the contractors, The Nation reports.
The apartment which is under lock and key is said to be overgrown with weeds. This was as a result of the FCDA abandoning the project due to the refusal of the 7th senate to accept the N9n contract inflation.
The construction which is still below 80 per cent completion was awarded in 2009. It was however reported that in 2012, Sen. Bala Mohammed, the former minister of the federal capital territory requested for N9b more to complete the project. The proposed N8 billion was later reduced to N6 billion.
Front view of the vice president residence. Credit: The Nation
Senator Smart Adeyemi who led the then senate committee on FCT rejected the variation. The project has since been abandoned with no work reportedly done in 2015.
A source reportedly said: “The construction of the VP’s residence has been abandoned by the FCDA since the Senate turned down the demand for variation.
“Despite the Senate Committee’s position, the former FCT Minister presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) but ex-President Jonathan said the nation cannot afford 120 per cent variation.
“The former FEC resolved to complete the project within available budget. This is why the project is stalled. Definitely, we have a case of abandoned contract at hand.
“The same abandonment is applicable to the new residences of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
A presidency source also said: “The uncompleted residence of the Vice President was not included in the handover note on the pending issues at the Presidential Villa.
“I think it might be part of the report of the FCDA. But it is sad that we have to cope with an abandoned project even at the seat of power.”
In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari has set up a committee to retrieve government properties still in the possession of government officials who served under the past administration.
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