Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has described reports of the allocation of N21.22 billion for his office as fake news.
According to him, those who engage in public debate about government actions must be responsible with their utterances and engage based on facts rather than insinuations and falsehoods.
Gbajabiamila, who is the immediate-past Speaker of the House of Representatives, also denied reports about a provision in the 2024 Appropriation Bill for the renovation of any residence for the Chief of Staff to the President, insisting that he lives in his private residence.
In a tweet on his X (Twitter) handle on Wednesday, Gbajabiamila said the figures being quoted by bloggers and fake news merchants were 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.
He wrote: “I have seen social media commentary regarding the 2024 Appropriation Bill, particularly the provisions under the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President. Owing to the erroneous nature of these reports, 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.
“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. The sums proposed for these projects are clearly stated 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.”
