President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is reportedly yet to move into his official residence at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, six weeks after taking over power from former President Muhammadu Buhari.
While Tinubu is yet to occupy his residence, the President is using his private conference room, office space, and Aso Chambers for crucial meetings.
According to Sunday PUNCH, Tinubu’s moving in has been delayed due to 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.
Although it took Buhari almost three weeks before he moved into his new residence, Presidency sources 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 revealed, “He (Tinubu) has not moved in because maintenance is still on.”