News

Why President Is Yet To Move Into Villa Six Weeks After Inauguration

Published

2 years ago

July 16, 2023

Over six weeks after assuming office, President Bola Tinubu has yet to occupy his official residence at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

While the President has been actively using his private conference room, office space, and Aso Chambers for crucial meetings with local and international guests, his official residence east of the office remains unoccupied.

In the afternoon of May 29, hours after his inauguration, Tinubu arrived at the State Banquet Hall for lunch with fellow Heads of State and country representatives, who witnessed the ceremony at Eagles Square, Abuja.

However, it is normal to see the President’s convoy leaving the premises at the close of his work day, bypassing his official residence, exiting the Villa, and heading for his Maitama private mansion. The same applies to his daily resumption.

The PUNCH learned that the reason could be the ongoing renovation that began in late April when former President Buhari vacated the 32-year-old structure for a temporary residence called the Glass House.

On May 6, 2023, weeks before Tinubu’s inauguration, maintenance work began around the Villa. It encompassed recoating worn-out portions with white paint, and a change of furniture in the green room of the Council Chamber, among others.

A spokesman for Buhari, Garba Shehu, had tweeted under a picture, “Painter at work. Villa wearing a new look for the incoming President.”

A senior source in the State House had told our correspondent that Tinubu, like his predecessors, was expected to decide what kind of furniture would be installed in his official residence.

Although Buhari moved into his new residence almost three weeks after his inauguration, Presidency sources confirmed the delay to our correspondent and said the same could not be expected of the new Commander-in-Chief, who is moving in eight years after a previous occupier.

The source stated, “These things are relative. It is not fixed at all. Goodluck Jonathan stayed for five years, and Buhari stayed for eight years. So, the level of repairs that needs to be done this time must have increased.

“There may be major alterations they are trying to do. For example, the Council Chamber we use today didn’t have all the technology it has now.

“There was a point during Baba’s (Buhari’s) tenure that it had to be shut down completely because they wanted to upgrade it. We were using the First Lady’s conference room for Federal Executive Council meetings at that time. And it took a long time to effect the changes.”

Another source said, “It’s also about individual choices, what you want in a place. But he (Tinubu) occupied the office as soon as he came in.”

On June 10, a security source confided in our correspondent, “He (Tinubu) has not moved in because maintenance is still on.”

Meanwhile, our correspondent also confirmed that the Aso Rock Chapel had been actively holding weekly meetings even though the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has yet to worship there.

The First Lady had stated that the President had not appointed a chaplain for the Aso Villa Chapel after the exit of the former Chaplain, Seyi Malomo.

Mrs Tinubu, in a statement last Monday, said the President reserved the right to appoint a chaplain while debunking claims on social media platforms that the Aso Villa Chapel had been closed down.

She said, “Our attention has been drawn to a story on social media about the purported closure of the Aso Rock Chapel by the First Lady; we wish to state categorically that this is a fabrication and a false representation of the true situation.

“The First Lady at no time gave such a directive that the chapel be shut nor asked for the keys to be handed over to her.”

At the time of filing this report, the former chaplain could not be reached.

PUNCH

News

PAP Sends Additional 34 Foreign Post-graduate Scholarship Beneficiaries To UK Varsities

Published

3 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has deployed an additional 34 foreign post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries to various universities in the United Kingdom for the 2025-2026 academic year.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Warri by Mr Igoniko Oduma, Special Assistant on Media to Dr. Dennis Otuaro, the Administrator, PAP.

According to the statement, the scholars’ programmes include data science, fintech analytics, cyber security, international energy law and policy, construction project management, public health, agri-food technology, electrical and petroleum engineering, among others.

The statement added that more foreign post-graduate scholars will be sent to UK universities in the current academic session.

“In December 2025, nine students, who were the first set of offshore post-graduate scholarship developments by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, for the 2024-2025 academic year, graduated from their various programmes in UK universities.

“Otuaro has deployed over 9000 students to universities within and outside Nigeria for different industry-relevant programmes since he assumed office in March 2024,” the statement partly reads.

Speaking at the pre-departure orientation programme for the scholars at the PAP headquarters in Abuja, on Thursday, Otuaro said that the large-scale deployment was aimed at making the Niger Delta a knowledge-driven region.

He said that his leadership reinvigorated the programme to give it a new momentum in service delivery to the people of the region based on the mandate of President Bola Tinubu.

Otuaro said, “We are sending all of you for post-graduate studies in various universities in the United Kingdom.

“The PAP now has a new momentum and direction because of the repositioning and broad reforms that we carried out in line with the mandate of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.

“The objective behind the huge scholarships deployment is to ensure that we develop the needed human capital to transform the Niger Delta and generate knowledge-wealth.

“We want to develop relevant manpower in critical disciplines for our region and by extension, the country, because you are expected to contribute your quota to national development after successful graduation.”

The PAP boss, who was represented at the event by his Technical Assistant, Mr Edgar Biu, advised the scholars to study hard to achieve academic excellence in their various fields of research.

According to him, the scholars have an obligation to justify the Federal Government’s investment in their education and future.

He reiterated his warning that beneficiaries should not take for granted the opportunity to further their academic pursuits in the interest of the Niger Delta and indeed the country.

Otuaro expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his “enormous interest and support for the Programme”, particularly the approval of an upward review of the programme’s budget from N65billion to N150billion.

He also expressed gratitude to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his impeccable guidance and supervision of the programme’s initiatives.

Otuaro, therefore, cautioned the scholars to obey their host country’s laws and the rules and regulations of their various institutions, stressing that they are ambassadors of Nigeria, the Niger Delta and their communities and families.

Highpoint of the orientation programme was the presentation of laptops to the scholars to help them in their studies.

News

Industrial Court Bars Resident Doctors From Strike

Published

3 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The National Industrial Court in Abuja has issued an interim injunction restraining the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and its agents from embarking on any form of industrial action, including strikes, go-slows, picketing, or preparatory steps for protest, from Monday, January 12, 2026.

Justice E.D. Subilim ordered that the injunction remain in force pending the hearing of the motion on January 21. The suit was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Federal Government against NARD, its president, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, and Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim.

The court order comes days after resident doctors at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, declared their full support for the nationwide strike announced by NARD over the government’s alleged failure to honour critical welfare and training agreements.

UDUTH doctors cited the non-reinstatement of five disengaged resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, unpaid promotion and salary arrears, and incomplete implementation of the Professional Allowance Table as key grievances. Other unresolved issues include withheld specialist allowances, delayed house officers’ salaries, postgraduate training certification delays, and deteriorating hospital infrastructure.

However, NARD had on Tuesday noted that there was no going back on the industrial action, insisting that the strike is necessary and not politically motivated. Speaking in Abuja, Dr Suleiman said the withdrawal of services from midnight on Monday is a response to “unmet commitments, shifting government positions and worsening working conditions for resident doctors, not partisan considerations.”

He argued that none of the demands outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Federal Government on November 27, 2025, have been implemented.

“Every issue is either at the same point where it was when we signed the MoU or we have even gone backwards,” Dr Suleiman said, adding that claims by the Ministry of Health that some issues had been resolved were misleading.
He further challenged the government to show where N90 billion, allegedly allocated in the 2026 budget for health workers’ professional allowances, has been provided.

The association also demanded the immediate reinstatement of the five disengaged resident doctors at FTH Lokoja with full back pay and rejected plans to redeploy them elsewhere.

Other grievances include delayed promotion arrears across 62 tertiary institutions, non-recognition of specialist certificates, and outstanding salary and allowance payments affecting nearly 40 percent of resident doctors.

While NARD remains open to dialogue and has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for decisive intervention, it warned that unless concrete action is taken, the planned industrial action will go ahead, potentially disrupting healthcare services nationwide. Dr Mujitaba Umar, President of the UDUTH chapter, described the situation as “difficult but unavoidable,” while the chapter’s General Secretary, Dr Muhammad Abdulrahman Hassan, urged the Federal Government to act swiftly “in the interest of the Nigerian populace and the healthcare system.”

News

Nigeria To Get Fresh $9.5m Abacha Loot From UK’s Jersey

Published

5 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

Nigeria to receive fresh $9.5 million (£7 million), believed to be stolen funds linked to former military Head of State, Sani Abacha, from the United Kingdom’s Jersey.

According to the BBC, Jersey has agreed to repatriate the fund to the Nigerian government.

The money, described as proceeds of “tainted property,” is said to be part of the vast fortune stolen by Abacha, who ruled Nigeria between 1993 and 1998.

The funds were kept in a bank account in Jersey and had been tied up in legal proceedings for several years.

Although the assets were first recovered during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, court challenges stalled their return to Nigeria. Progress was made in December 2025 when Jersey’s Attorney-General, Mark Temple, signed a memorandum of understanding, MoU, with Nigerian authorities to enable the repatriation.

The latest agreement builds on two earlier arrangements between Jersey and Nigeria that led to the return of more than $300 million (£230m) in recovered assets.