ASO ROCK BUILDING...SEE PHOTO

Firstclass Newsline writes on the differences that may be noticed in
the outlook of the Presidential Villa with the coming on board of
President Muhammadu Buhari
Two days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari stood before Nigerians and
friends of the country at the Eagles Square, Abuja to take his Oath of
Office and Oath of Allegiance as the President of the country, thereby
formally taking over the mantle of leadership from former President
Goodluck Jonathan, who had called the shots from the Presidential
Villa, Abuja in the past five years.
The change of baton will not just be from one administration to the
other or from the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration to one
now controlled by the All Progressives Congress; it will also
translate into many other changes in the outlook of the seat of power:
the Aso Villa.
One of such changes that will be obvious in the seat of power will be
the manner in which residents and members of staff go out and profess
their faith.
During the Jonathan administration, the Aso Villa Chapel was a beehive
of activities. That was because the former president, who was the
political head of the chapel, is a Christian. The chapel, which was
built by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is
located between the Office of the First Lady and the President's
official residence inside the Villa.
While Jonathan's tenure lasted, political jobbers and favour-seekers
always besieged the place of worship either to get his attention or
that of his influential wife, Patience.
Many government officials also adopted the chapel as their church. The
Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Joan Ayo; and
the Chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Mr. Jide Adeniji
were members of the Chapel Management Committee. A member of the House
of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, was also a prominent member of the
chapel.
The story will change with the coming on board of Buhari who is a
Muslim. There is anxiety that the population of the chapel will
drastically reduce. Jonathan himself made an allusion to this during
the last presidential breakfast prayer held inside the old Banquet
Hall of the Villa.
He said, "I expected a very low turnout because in most cases, when
government is winding down, people reduce. You will notice that even
in the chapel, the number of people that will be coming will become
less and less. But when I came in, I noticed that this whole hall was
filled up. So, I have to sincerely thank all of you."
Although Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who is also a pastor, is
expected to ensure that the chapel is not closed down, many observers
believe that there is a limit to which he can go in ensuring the
survival of the chapel under a President who is a Muslim, especially
when the worship centre is closer to the President's residence than
his.
On the other hand, worshippers in the mosques within the seat of power
will naturally increase under this dispensation. There are three
mosques in the Aso Villa. While two are located inside two of the car
parks in the villa, the last one is directly behind the President's
office.
Shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared
Buhari the winner of the March 28 presidential election, the
population of those who pray inside the mosque behind the President's
office surged. This is in expectation that Buhari will be joining them
to pray inside the mosque.
"When late President Umaru Yar'Adua was still alive and in charge, we
worshipped together inside the mosque behind his office. After
prayers, he would remain seated on the praying mat to listen to some
of us.
"We are envisaging that President Buhari's case will not be different.
Therefore, we shall be meeting at the mosque," a member of staff of
the Presidential Villa, who spoke under the condition of anonymity
told our correspondent.
One of the mosques may, however, suffer the same fate that is feared
to be awaiting the chapel. This is the mosque located inside the
Akinola Aguda House, the official residence of the Vice-President.
When former Vice-President Namadi Sambo was still in charge, visitors
to his residence at any hour of prayer were welcomed by calls to
prayer blaring from the loudspeakers mounted outside the mosque.
This is expected to change since the new occupant of the residence is
a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Even if he has a few
Muslim domestic workers, observers say they may not carry out their
prayers in a manner that will be seen to be disturbing their
principal.
Another worker told our correspondent that the unwritten dress code in
the Villa will change with the arrival of Buhari at the saddle. He
said, "You will observe that when Jonathan was in power, being an Ijaw
man, many aides and workers here were wearing the Ijaw traditional
dresses. You will be seeing more of Hausa dressing and maybe a bit of
Yoruba attire too," she said.
Another thing that will change, according to staff in the
administrative department, is the nature of visitors. Being the leader
of the Peoples Democratic Party, a large percentage of those visiting
Jonathan were PDP chieftains or those sympathetic to the cause of the
party. But with the turn of events now, most visitors will be APC
members and their sympathisers.
The likes of former Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Aliyu Wamakko and Rabiu
Kwankwaso, as well as Governor Abdufatah Ahmed who stopped visiting
the villa after defecting from the PDP to the APC, will now be
visiting since their new party has produced the President.
Also under ex-president Jonathan, meetings of two organs of the PDP:
the Board of Trustees and the National Caucus were always held inside
the banquet hall. This will definitely stop since the APC had thwarted
the opposition party's quest to continue in power.
There is also an expectation that the National Economic Council, which
became divided under Sambo because of the leadership crisis that led
to the factionalisation of the Nigerian Governors Forum, will now be
meeting more regularly. The council, chaired by the Vice-President,
has all state governors as members.
Under Jonathan, most governors who would be absent without
representation at the NEC or Council of State meetings were APC
governors. The tide will likely change.
In all, government is said to be a continuum, so many are expecting
that apart from the few changes that will naturally come with a new
government formed by a new party other than the party of the immediate
past government, the new administration will not embark on a wild
goose chase by changing policies that will favour the common man on
the streets just for the purpose of "change."
Firstclassnewsline.net