Posted by By OUR REPORTER on
The controversy trailing the sale of one of the official guest houses of the vice president took another dimension on Wednesday when the campaign organization of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo never approved the sale of the houses.
The controversy trailing the sale of one of the official guest houses of the vice president took another dimension on Wednesday when the campaign organization of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo never approved the sale of the houses.
According to a statement by the Atiku Campaign Organization, official government records showed that the former president actually disapproved the sale of the official guest houses of the vice president. It said that former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai therefore acted on his own by selling one of the guest houses to himself.
The statement said: "Contrary to claims by the former Minister, and Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, to the effect that he had ex-President Obasanjo's approval to sell unto himself the official guest house of the vice president on Mambila Street, Abuja, official records show that the former president had indeed given a written directive that the houses should not be sold.
"Information available to the Atiku Campaign Organization shows that the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who declined the offer to buy his No. 17, Ikoyi Crescent, Lagos official residence, felt so strongly about the issue that he took the matter to the Federal Executive Council. Atiku briefed the Council that any incoming vice president of Nigeria needed to keep a Lagos home given the significance of the former federal capital as the economic nerve centre of the country.
He also made the case that guest houses attached to the vice president should be left unsold for security and other considerations. At this juncture, former President Obasanjo as chairman of the Council advised the former vice president to present a memorandum for the exclusion of those houses for his approval, which Atiku did.
"In the memo dated 27th October, 2005 entitled: "Sale of Government Landed Properties" (attached to this press release), Atiku said to the president: ‘Please, recall our discussion on the sale of government landed properties and the need to exclude the official residence of the vice president in Lagos as well as the lodges attached to the vice president in Lagos and Abuja.
‘Accordingly, I wish to provide the details of the lodges for appropriate directives to the FCT Minister and the Minister of Housing respectively: 1) No. 17 Ikoyi Crescent , Ikoyi - Lagos (Official Residence); 2) No. 7B Ikoyi Crescent , Ikoyi - Lagos; 3) No. 16 Mambila Street, Aso Drive , Maitama - Abuja; 4) No. 14 (Plot 26) Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro - Abuja; 5). 24 Suleiman Barau Crescent, Asokoro - Abuja
‘Mr. President may wish to direct please.'
"In his own hand writing, the president wrote to the vice president and the ministers of FCT and Housing conveying approval stopping the sale of those houses. Accordingly, the presidential directive was conveyed to the vice president and the two ministers by Taiwo Ojo, special assistant to the president in a letter SH/VP/DO dated 27th November, 2005.
"In addition, the president went on to give a further directive to the FCT minister that ‘the three guest houses in Abuja be left for VP,' when Atiku pleaded that the guest houses be left at three, following presidential directive that they be reduced to two.
"At the point when the government appeared determined to let everything go, the former vice president did indicate his interest on Mambila Street house but as it turned out, the FCT minister did not revert to him on its sale because as it has now become clear, he wanted it for himself.
"To convince Nigerians that he had a presidential approval to sell those houses and to himself and his compatriots, we challenge the former minister, a serial liar, to show the Federal Executive Council's decision reversing itself on this matter."