The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) says the continued non-utilisation of the official residence built for Vice President Kashim Shettima, nearly two years after its completion and commissioning, has vindicated the serious reservations it earlier expressed over the project.
HURIWA recalls that it had questioned the wisdom of committing several billions of naira to the construction and completion of a massive residential edifice for the Vice President at a time when millions of Nigerians were battling poverty, unemployment, insecurity and deteriorating living conditions.
The association had particularly expressed concern that the project was being pursued by an administration that had simultaneously imposed difficult economic reforms on Nigerians through the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, developments that significantly affected the purchasing power of citizens.
HURIWA had described the project as an “intolerable error of judgment”, arguing that the priority of government at a time of widespread hardship should be the welfare of citizens and reduction in the cost of governance.
As Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, National Coordinator of HURIWA, stated at the time:
“It is an intolerable error of judgment that the government embarked on such white elephant projects as the completion of a multi-billion naira mansion for the Vice President at a time when millions of Nigerian households are experiencing multidimensional poverty.”
“Why build such a massive mansion for the Vice President when the country is among the poverty capitals of the world? When you reduce the cost of governance, it becomes easier to take care of the citizens.”
HURIWA says the subsequent development surrounding the residence has made those concerns even more compelling.
The project, originally awarded in 2010 at about N7 billion and abandoned for several years, was revived under the Federal Capital Territory Administration and eventually completed at a cost that reportedly rose to about N21 billion, with additional public funding of approximately N22 billion reportedly committed to the project and associated works.
The facility was commissioned in June 2024, with the Federal Government presenting its completion as part of efforts to ensure that inherited projects did not become wasted public investments.
Yet, almost two years after its commissioning, the Vice President has continued to use Akinola Aguda House as his official residence.
For HURIWA, this development raises a fundamental question: what exactly has happened to the enormous public resources committed to a building that was specifically intended to serve as the official residence of the Vice President?
The association says it is particularly troubling that after such massive expenditure, questions are still being raised about the suitability of the facility for occupation.
If the funds committed to the project covered everything necessary to make the building suitable for the Vice President to move in, then the continued non-use of the facility raises legitimate questions about the adequacy of the project execution and the management of the public funds committed to it.
HURIWA believes that the situation should not become an excuse for another round of government expenditure.
The association therefore advocates that no further public funds should be committed to the mansion without a transparent explanation to Nigerians of why the billions already spent have not achieved the intended objective.
If the facility is still considered unsuitable for the Vice President after the enormous expenditure already incurred, HURIWA says that would raise serious questions about the prudence and judgment behind proceeding with the project in the first place.
The association says Nigerians should not be asked to continually pay for decisions that were made without sufficient regard for economic realities and public interest.
HURIWA is equally concerned that the controversy surrounding the residence should not be allowed to degenerate into speculation over unverified claims. What Nigerians need is a transparent account of the project: the original contract sum, variations, additional allocations, total expenditure, scope of work and the reasons the facility has remained unused for its intended purpose.
More importantly, HURIWA believes that the situation now presents an opportunity for government to turn an expensive and underutilised public asset into something that directly benefits ordinary Nigerians.
The association therefore advocates the conversion of the Vice President’s residence into a General Hospital for low-income earners, unemployed Nigerians and other vulnerable residents of Abuja.
HURIWA says such a conversion would provide a constructive public purpose for an edifice on which enormous taxpayers’ resources have already been expended.
At a time when many Nigerians struggle to access affordable and quality healthcare, the association believes that transforming the facility into a public hospital would give citizens a tangible benefit from an expenditure that has already generated widespread concerns over public-sector priorities.
HURIWA stresses that this advocacy is not targeted at the office or person of the Vice President. Rather, it is a call for responsible management of public assets and a reconsideration of how government can derive maximum public value from resources that have already been committed.
The association maintains that public expenditure should ultimately serve the public good.
Where billions of naira have already been spent on an asset that is not serving its original purpose, government should look beyond the original intention and consider how the asset can be repurposed to address the pressing needs of the Nigerian people.
For HURIWA, a General Hospital serving poor and vulnerable Nigerians would be a far more meaningful legacy for the controversial edifice than allowing it to remain an expensive, underutilised monument to questionable public expenditure.
Signed:
Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko
National Coordinator
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)
21st September, 2026
