Just when the “embarrassment” involving Naomi Campbell, US actress, is yet to die down, the presidency has been entangled in another web of controversy.
This time around it is about the Eko Atlantic City. The project situated in the Victoria Island part of Lagos is a planned coastal city being constructed on reclaimed land from the Atlantic Ocean.
On Friday, Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the city during his two-day visit to the state.
“We took a tour of the Eko Atlantic City with Mr. President as he officially commissioned the project,” Ambode had tweeted.
The governor’s statement did not go down well with some Nigerians, with some accusing him of propaganda. They said the same project had been inaugurated by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Amid the controversy, the presidency announced on Saturday that Buhari had no business inaugurating the project.
It tweeted that the president only toured the Eko Atlantic City as part of the activities marking his visit to the state.
“President Buhari did not commission or launch Eko Atlantic City,” it said, adding: “His visit was a tour, as part of his two-day official visit to Lagos state, and the plaque he unveiled was to commemorate the visit to the site.”
It is not yet known if Ambode will delete his earlier tweet and play along with the presidency’s narrative — like Campbell did; or whether he will stand his ground that the president actually inaugurated the project.
This is not the first time that there would be a controversy over projects. When Buhari visited Plateau state some weeks back, Solomon Dalung, minister of sports, said Buhari inaugurated a bridge which Jonathan opened while in office.
And for the controversies, the presidency is still struggling to lay to rest the dust raised over the “award” or “commemorative plague” given to Buhari by the family of the late Martin Luther King.
