By Confidence Obiahu
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on the Federal Government to consider converting the official residence built for Vice President Kashim Shettima into a General Hospital to serve poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
HURIWA made the proposal in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on September 21, 2026.
The association said its proposal was prompted by concerns over the reported non-use of the residence nearly two years after it was completed and commissioned.
According to HURIWA, the project was originally awarded in 2010 at an estimated cost of N7 billion but was subsequently abandoned before being revived under the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
The group said the project was eventually completed at a cost reportedly estimated at about N21 billion, while about N22 billion was reportedly committed to the project and related works.
The residence was commissioned in June 2024, with the Federal Government saying its completion was part of efforts to ensure that inherited projects were completed rather than allowed to become unproductive investments.
HURIWA, however, said the Vice President has continued to use Akinola Aguda House as his official residence.
The association called for greater transparency on the project, urging the government to provide details of the original contract sum, variations, additional allocations, total expenditure, scope of work and the reasons for the reported non-use of the facility.
It also urged the government to clarify whether additional public funds would be required before the residence could be put to its intended use.
Onwubiko said the resources reportedly committed to the project should be considered in the context of the country’s wider development needs.
He said, “It is an intolerable error of judgment that the government embarked on such white elephant projects as the completion of a multi-billion naira mansion for the Vice President at a time when millions of Nigerian households are experiencing multidimensional poverty.”
He added, “Why build such a massive mansion for the Vice President when the country is among the poverty capitals of the world? When you reduce the cost of governance, it becomes easier to take care of the citizens.”
HURIWA further proposed that the facility could be converted into a General Hospital providing healthcare services to low-income earners and other vulnerable residents of Abuja.
The group said repurposing the building could provide an alternative public use for an asset on which billions of naira had reportedly been spent.
HURIWA stressed that its proposal was not directed at the Vice President personally but was based on its broader call for what it described as responsible management of public assets and greater public value from government expenditure.
The association said where a public building is no longer serving its original purpose; government could consider alternative uses that address pressing social needs, including access to affordable healthcare.
It maintained that converting the residence into a hospital would provide a direct public benefit from the facility while addressing healthcare needs among vulnerable residents of the Federal Capital Territory.
