The presiding officers of the National Assembly—Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, and Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu—have been allocated ₦10 billion for rent and furniture in the Federal Capital Territory’s 2024 supplementary budget, a Premium Times investigation has revealed.
This provision, listed under the item “Renting and Furnishing of Presiding Officers of the National Assembly” in the budget, was classified with code 23010309.
The ₦288 billion supplementary budget, which President Bola Tinubu presented to the National Assembly in September, was passed in just five days.
The allocation for the legislative leaders follows recent reports of extravagant spending by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
In the past 15 months, the FCT ministry has spent generously, including ₦21 billion for a residential mansion for Vice President Kashim Shettima and ₦25 billion for housing 40 judges.
This latest spending comes at a time when Nigeria faces severe economic hardship, with the removal of the petroleum subsidy and devaluation of the naira pushing many into poverty.
Stampedes during food distribution have resulted in dozens of deaths in recent weeks.
Despite these challenges, critics argue that the government continues its trend of lavish expenditures while urging austerity measures for ordinary citizens.
Among the contentious spending are a $100 million presidential jet, failed attempts to procure a presidential yacht, and luxury vehicles for lawmakers.
Observers have accused Mr. Wike of using such financial allocations to subtly influence institutions.
However, the minister has consistently denied these claims. His appointment as FCT minister has been widely interpreted as a reward for his pivotal role in President Tinubu’s 2023 election victory.
According to Section 299 of the 1999 Constitution, the President serves as the de facto governor of the FCT, with the National Assembly acting as its legislative body. Section 302 further empowers the President to appoint an FCT minister as his representative.
In the past, National Assembly leaders were housed in the Apo legislative quarters. However, these buildings were sold under the monetisation policy introduced during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, leaving only the presiding officers’ quarters unsold.
In the 6th Assembly, under the Umar Yar’Adua administration, the buildings were sold to the four presiding officers: Senate President David Mark, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole, and Deputy Speaker Bayero Nafada.
In 2011, the government opted to build new houses for the presiding officers on the outskirts of the city in Katampe Extension, behind the Lungi Barracks. However, the lawmakers reportedly rejected the offer. Later, the Goodluck Jonathan administration started another project just for the four presiding officers.
The project is located within the Three-Arms Zone, very close to the main gate of the National Assembly. For years, construction on the buildings has stalled despite several deadlines.
Despite this, Premium Times reported that the government has resorted to renting houses for all the presiding officers of the National Assembly since 2011. According to sources, Senate President Godswill Akpabio lives in a rented apartment in Maitama, a highbrow area of Abuja, while the Speaker lives in the Guzape District.
The 2024 supplementary budget
Wike, in a letter dated 11 September, and addressed to President Tinubu, requested additional spending of N288 billion as a supplementary budget for the FCT.
He listed some of the projects the funds are meant for. Under the capital component, the supplementary budget contains a total of 32 projects.
“The purpose of this letter is to seek the approval of Your Excellency for the second Supplementary Budget presentation to the National Assembly, a Supplementary Budget to the 2024 Statutory Appropriation Act of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in the sum of N288,000,000,000.00, necessitated with a view to accommodate additional inflows from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and Miscellaneous Revenues in the sums of N8,000,000,000.00 and N280,000,000,000.00 respectively,” Mr Wike said in the letter.
The request by the minister was approved by the president, who subsequently transmitted the supplementary budget to the National Assembly for approval. This request was approved by the lawmakers and passed.
Of the 32 projects, 22 were existing ones that received additional funding, while 10 new projects were introduced into the FCT budget. For instance, the N25 billion earmarked for the construction of houses for judges got an additional N5 billion, increasing the budgetary allocation to N30 billion.
In addition to the legislature, the FCT also allocated N20 billion for the renovation of the State Security Service (SSS) headquarters in Abuja.
The N10 billion budgetary provision for the presiding officers is vague and raises a number of questions: What kind of rent? What kind of furniture? Why is the FCT paying the rent of these officers when the National Assembly has its own budget? Why is the FCT spending N10 billion on rents and furnishing when there are existing housing projects for these same officials?
The National Assembly has its own budget, and to guarantee the independence of the institution, it receives its funds under the statutory transfer instrument. That is, its budget is given in a lump sum and not broken down.
In the past couple of years, the National Assembly’s budget has continued to grow despite fiscal constraints.
In the current fiscal cycle, the National Assembly has a budget of N344 billion, the highest ever. Ordinarily, one would have expected the federal legislature to use these funds to address all its needs, including the rent for its presiding officers. Why is the National Assembly not paying the rent for its presiding officers despite this record allocation?
Also, there is an abandoned housing project for these same officers that has remained uncompleted for close to a decade.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the buildings, located within the Three-Arms Zone, are intended for the Senate President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Deputy Senate President. However, these four buildings, which have been roofed and plastered, still remain incomplete over a decade after construction began. Why is the FCT not spending the N10 billion to complete these buildings instead of allocating funds for rent and furniture?
To get answers to these questions, this newspaper submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the office of the Minister of the FCT to seek clarification on the planned expenditure, addressing some of the questions raised. However, the ministry ignored the request.
This appears to be a recurring pattern under Mr Wike’s administration, where the budgets of the FCT are not made public, and requests for information are routinely ignored.
Premium Times noted that it has submitted several FOI requests to the ministry in the past, all of which were disregarded.
Putting the expenditure in context
To understand the significance of this N10 billion allocated for the four individuals, it is essential to compare it with other similar expenditures.
For instance, in the proposed 2025 budget, the federal government allocated N11.5 billion for the construction of 20,000 housing units under the Renewed Hope Agenda Housing Scheme. While this project could potentially serve 20,000 households, these four individuals are allocated N10 billion for rent.
Additionally, in the proposed 2025 budget, the federal government’s national housing programme (nationwide) has an allocation of N5.3 billion. This amount is approximately 50 per cent of the N10 billion set aside for the rent and furniture of four individuals.
Just before embarking on the end-of-the-year holiday, lawmakers in the lower chamber pooled half of their salaries into a fund to support the government in addressing economic hardship. The total contribution amounted to N704 million, which the House stated would be presented to President Tinubu for distribution to vulnerable members of society. However, this N704 million is just 7.4 per cent of the N10 billion allocated for the rent of Mr Tajudeen and his three colleagues.
This allocation to the four presiding officers underscores what many describe as insensitivity and a lack of transparency in the use of public funds.