Muhammadu Yahaya, Gombe State Governor, has approved the spending of N15 billion to construct an ultra-modern governor’s residence.
The state’s executive council met on Tuesday, and Yahaya approved the building of this residence and other projects with a budget of N43.13 billion. These other projects include roads, House of Assembly and state high court complexes.
When Tilde Mijiyanwa, the state information commissioner, communicated the decision of this meeting to the press, it drew public backlash.
Economic and political analysts agree Nigeria needs to cut its cost of governance, and the backlash that followed Yahaya’s decision mirrored the one Nyesom Wike, FCT Minister, and Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, faced when they proposed similar exercises in Abuja and Lagos, respectively.
Wike already set the ball rolling on his N15 billion vice president’s residence in Abuja, while Gbajabiamila secured N10 billion to renovate the Presidential Quarters in Dodan Barracks and the Vice President’s Lodge in Lagos. Both men enjoyed the backing of the federal government’s N28 trillion 2024 budget.