ministers could find decent accommodation in Abuja.
“We hope there will be a meeting point over what the president has approved for the ministers and the special advisers who are on the same level, as the N4 million is not realistic at all.
“Some of these public office holders were past governors and chief executives in private concerns before they were appointed, and it will be unfair to downgrade their living standards,” one ministerial aide stated.
He added that the nature of their jobs also requires some ministers to host local and foreign dignitaries at their residences when they visit Abuja.
“By virtue of their office, some ministers such as those in charge of foreign affairs, budget and national planning, finance, trade and investment, health, and education, among others, often host foreign dignitaries from missions, embassies and international or multilateral donor agencies. Accordingly, they would need befitting accommodation.
“It would not be in our interest for such dignitaries to be hosted in tiny flats or in far flung suburbs outside the metropolis, which is what the N4 million can afford at the moment. Besides, there might also be security concerns about allowing ministers to live in such suburbs or even hosting foreign dignitaries there.
“Right now, the absence of accommodation also means that many of them have not been able to relocate their families and have been shuttling on a regular basis to cater to the home front. Realistically, that will be a distraction that the administration could do without,” the aide said.
Another aide, who preferred not to be named, blamed the problem on the monetisation programme of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, resulting in the sale of official residences built for ministers and other top government functionaries in Abuja.
“In the past, former ministers lived in purpose-built spacious mansions in Maitama, the Ministers’ Hill, also in Maitama, and the Ministers’ Quarters in Mabushi, which were all within the Abuja metropolis.
“But those official residences were sold to former ministers. So their successors have had to rent accommodation starting with the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
“And with the N4 million approved by President Buhari, it is next to impossible for the ministers to rent anything decent,” the source said.
He added that the problem does not just apply to ministers but
