How Jonathan’s Ministers, aides, Generals, agencies’ heads shared 500 FG houses

Many senior officials under President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration allegedly shared over 500
Federal Government houses located in high brow
areas of Abuja and Lagos as parting gifts.
The beneficiaries were influential ministers, top
presidential aides, heads of some powerful federal
agencies, like the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission and the armed forces, as well as top
military officers.
Saturday Sun reports that most of the
beneficiaries’ allocations were done under fictitious
names and companies.
But since the resolve of President Muhammadu
Buhari to probe the Jonathan administration, many
of the beneficiaries have abandoned the properties.
The posh apartments are now under lock and key
and overgrown with weeds, even as others have
refused to pay for the properties to avoid losing
their money in the event they are revoked.
A source in the SGF’s office told Saturday Sun that
the properties, whose owners are now scared to
take possession of them, are scattered all over
Asokoro and Maitama areas of Abuja as well as
Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Apapa areas of
Lagos State.
Investigations by Saturday Sun revealed that the
abandoned properties are more in Lagos.
They litter Emotan Road, Apapa GRA; Liverpool
Road, Apapa; Marine road, Apapa; Park Pane and
Child Avenue, both also in Apapa.
In Ikoyi, they are located at Oyinkan Abayomi
(Former Queen’s Drive) and Bourdillion Road,
where the EFCC boss, Ibrahim Lamorde, has his
allocation: a mansion and two bungalows on a
large expanse of land.
It was also gathered that while some of the former
ministers and presidential aides have their
allocations in Abuja, top military officers and some
heads of government agencies have theirs in
Lagos.
The newspaper said the former ministers,
presidential aides and Heads of Departments and
Agencies were allocated Guest Houses and other
buildings owned by their MDAs at ridiculous
prices.
The source, who is a top official of the SGF’s office,
however, told Saturday Sun that most of the
houses were abandoned because “the owners are
obviously looking for private sector individuals that
can buy them as many of them didn’t really get the
allocations to live in the houses, they only want to
sell them off and make profit.
“Most of the owners got the houses while still in
government and they wouldn’t like to disclose
such huge assets in their assets declaration forms
with the Code of Conduct Bureau because of the
questions on the source of the funds used to pay
for such.
“We’re only the ones who know who owns what,
but if you follow the table of allocations, you will
only find names of companies as beneficiaries.”
The source, however, exonerated the committee in
charge of the houses, which is directly in charge of
some of the sales, of any complicity, adding:
“decisions and approvals more often than not,
come from the Presidency.
“The committee also has no control over which
name will be used for the purpose of allocation
and what such beneficiaries do with the properties
afterwards.”
Beside the sales done by the committee, it was
also learnt that some public institutions like the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Power
Holding Company of Nigeria, Nigeria Ports
Authority and the Central Bank of Nigeria handled
the sales of some of their properties based on
approval from the Presidency.
It was said that some of the controversial sales
could have been done by the ministries and
agencies that have presidential approval to dispose
of their own assets.
Another source in the Ministry of Lands and
Housing however said the number of houses
allocated was far lower than 500.
The source, who is an official of the ministry, dis­
closed: “It is true that some requests for allocation
came towards the end of the last administration
but the real allocation was tactically delayed by
some officials to avoid running into trouble with
the then in-coming Buhari administration.”
Reacting on behalf of Lamorde, the EFCC’s
spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said he was not at
liberty to comment.
Although Uwujaren did not deny the claims, he in­
sisted on sighting the document wherein Lamorde
was named as one of the beneficiaries.
Uwujaren said: “I cannot just react to your claims.
At least, it is only fair that I see the document you
are relying on. I need to study the contents of the
document and then react accordingly. You know
too well that anybody can make such a weighty
allegation just to smear the image of the chairman
of EFCC.”
However, the presidency has given an indication
that it would investigate the allegation.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the Buhari
administration “will investigate such deals”.