The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila has debunked claims that the 2024 Appropriation Bill recently presented to the national assembly by President Tinubu makes provision for the renovation of his residence as the Chief of Staff to the President.
In a statement, Wednesday, the CoS, while discrediting online stories that the sum of N10 billion was budgeted for the renovation of his residence and that N10.1 billion was also set aside for his computer software, described the claims as “erroneous nature” adding that he only lives in his private house.
Femi Gbajabiamila said, “It has become necessary to clarify that there is no provision in the 2024 Appropriation Bill for the renovation of any residence for the Chief of Staff to the President. I live in my private residence,” he said.
The CoS also clarified that the “sums mischievously quoted by online bloggers and fake news merchants are for renovating the Presidential Quarters in Dodan Barracks and the Vice President’s Lodge in Lagos, to overhaul the information management and communications facilities in the Presidency to meet modern standards and to provide vehicles for the staff of the Presidency.”
According to him, the amounts proposed for the projects are plainly defined in the budget proposal and bear no resemblance to the deceptive online commentary.
“This administration welcomes and encourages scrutiny of government expenditure; this is why the Budget proposal is publicly available. However, healthy public debate about government actions requires us to be responsible with our utterances and engage based on facts rather than insinuations and falsehoods,” he expressed.
Last Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu presented the nation’s N27.5 trillion budget christened, ‘Budget of Renewed Hope,’ to a joint sitting of the National Assembly.
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