Politics

I still get lost inside Aso Rock Villa—-Buhari

Published

9 years ago

September 17, 2015

Nearly four months after moving into the seat of power and the abode of the president, President Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed that he still gets lost inside Aso Rock Villa.

The President disclosed this on Wednesday in Paris during an exclusive interview with France 24 TV when asked if Aso Rock was the same as the Government House he left in 1985.

“It was not the same place. The last time I was there, I was in the barracks. This time I am in a palace. At times, I can’t find my way around. It is so big so much that it must be expensive to maintain. But it is there, it cannot be removed,” he said.

The Presidential Villa was built in the late 1980s and was first occupied in 1991 by Buhari’s successor, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), who moved the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from Lagos to Abuja after an aborted coup led by Major Gideon Orkar.

Buhari as military head of state from December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985, lived in Dodan Barracks in Lagos, which at the time was the seat of power.

He moved into Aso Rock Villa on June 21, more than three weeks after he was sworn-in as elected president on May 29.

His predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, was said to have approved some renovation works in the Villa, which stretched far beyond his tenure.

Jonathan, however, took Buhari on a tour of the Villa days before his (Buhari) swearing in.

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now