President Bola Tinubu says completing the vice-president’s resistance with N21 billion amid economic hardship in the country is a fulfillment of one of his promises to Nigerians – one of his achievements since he assumed office.

Mr Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the commissioning of the multi-billion naira edifice on Friday, said the project shows his dedication to accountability, transparency and good utilisation of resources to better the country.

“As we commission this state-of-the-art edifice as the official residence of the Vice President, we are fulfilling a longstanding commitment and reaffirming our unwavering dedication to accountability, transparency and efficient utilisation of resources for the betterment of our nation,” Mr Tinubu said. 

The president added, “I hold a very strong opinion that abandoning projects after substantial expenditure have been incurred is inherently wasteful, and it is in the best interest of the Government and the public to see them through to completion.”

Mr Tinubu’s government completed the project started by his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, with N14 billion.

The president, who assumed office last year, has come under public criticism on social media for lavishing billions on building an edifice for his deputy amid economic hardship.

The inauguration of the residence comes as the Nigerian Labour Congress and its affiliate unions are demanding a minimum wage increment due to spiking food prices and inflation induced by Mr Tinubu’s policies, fuel subsidy removal and floating of the naira.

An X user, OMatarazi, said, “The Tinubu government spending so much money on the vice-president’s house while many Nigerians are struggling shows he’s not thinking about others. It’s like he doesn’t understand how hard life is for regular people. It’s not right to spend so much when others are suffering. A heart blinded by wealth often overlooks the struggles of the needy.”

 “Wicked leaders! At a time Nigerians are experiencing extreme hardship. They have refused to prune down their expenses and are even claiming they cannot pay 60k minimum wage,” another X @Mizposhey tweeted.

Also, @Hope_TheThird tweeted, “To put this in context, with a minimum wage of ‘over N60,000’, this money will pay the salaries of 29000 workers for one year.”