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The court of appeal in Abuja has ordered MTN Nigeria to pay N15 million in damages over the unlawful deduction of a subscriber’s airtime through unsolicited services.
On Friday, the appellate court in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, described as fraudulent, the regular deduction of airtime of customers by the telecommunication giant, for the auto-renewal of services not subscribed to.
According to the court, the sending of unwarranted text messages by the company amounted to a breach of subscribers’ right to privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as the violation of Regulation 28 of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
The judgement followed an appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/137/2022, brought before the court by an aggrieved customer, Ezugwu Anene.
Anene had approached the court, alleging that he received over 244 unsolicited text messages from MTN for ‘weekly guidance and counselling,’ a service he said he did not subscribe to.
The appealant told the court that from 2016 to 2018, N20 was unlawfully deducted from his airtime balance, each time he received the text message on his mobile telephone line he gave as 08030735301.
Anene alleged that MTN continued to deduct his airtime for ‘caller tune services’ that were imposed on him.
He told the court that the unwanted deductions persisted, even though he protested at the Abuja office of the telecommunication company and also used a code, 2442, which he was told would activate a ‘Do Not Disturb’ service on his line.
Responding, the appeal court agreed that the unsolicited text messages caused the appellant anxiety.
The judge said MTN was likely profiting substantially from the practice, and Nigerians “may not know this”.
“If MTN had sent unsolicited messages to 10 million phones at the time, owned by innocent Nigerians, it would unlawfully enrich itself to over a trillion naira,” the judge said.
The judge, therefore, set aside the N300,000 general damages imposed by the high court.
The court agreed with the high court that the claimant had complained to MTN and made a personal complaint to its customer care team.
It also agreed that the claimant had activated the DND option, but despite the efforts, MTN persisted in sending unsolicited messages.
“In all, I award N15 million in damages in favour of the appellant and against MTN. The appeal succeeds and is allowed,” the judge said.
MTN SAYS ANENE SUBSCRIBED TO SERVICES
On September 22, 2021, at a high court sitting in Abuja, Anene, through his legal team, had sought over N200 million in general damages for the “disturbing unsolicited messages sent to the claimant weekly,” as well as for the “imposition of callertunes on the claimant’s mobile number.”
He told the court that although he subscribed to MTN’s network services, he never signed up for the weekly clarion child guidance, counselling, or caller tune services provided by MTN.
Anene said instead, “the MTN inundated him with a large volume of messages and deducted money from his airtime for unsolicited services from July 2016 to March 21, 2018, at inappropriate hours”.
He added that his refusal to answer calls from certain numbers denied him the opportunity to receive important business calls, while the strange calls were continuously recurring and embarrassing.
On its part, MTN, represented by its staff member Emmanuel Iteade, informed the high court that when a prospective subscriber purchases a SIM starter kit, the prepaid terms and conditions are clearly placed in the kit to allow careful review.
The official said the company did not breach the claimant’s right to privacy or the quiet enjoyment of his airtime and did not make any fraudulent or illegal deductions from his airtime.
“All services complained about by the claimant were subscribed to by him, and the defendant merely debited him for the services,” Iteade said.
The court awarded N300,000 as general damages but noted that the claimant could not sufficiently prove the assertions about the 88 calls.
Dissatisfied with the N300,000 awarded, the claimant approached the appeal court for redress, arguing that the amount was too low.
MTN’s legal team also cross-appealed, saying the total deductions from the claimant amounted to about N14,000 and that the N300,000 award was generous.
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has narrated how former President Goodluck Jonathan’s political calculations influenced his political journey to the National Assembly and eventually his present office.
Speaking at a service of songs in honour of late Madam Ani-Gunn Rhoda Ikiogha, mother of a former Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Chief Diekivie Ikiogha, in Yenagoa, also attended by Jonathan and his wife, Diri recounted how the former president’s decision altered his political ambition at some point but became a blessing in disguise.
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He stated that Ikiogha and himself had been political sons of Jonathan even before he became president and worked together until their political interests failed to align.
“I have come a long way with Chief Ikiogha. We worked together at some point when he was Chief of Staff, Government House and I was Deputy Chief of Staff. We have been in politics over this period mostly working together.
“But there was a time he left me because we had a conflict of interest. We were very clear on what we wanted, and then our leader was in Abuja as president. So we plotted our political graph with the former governor, Senator Dickson, who was our boss here.
“We agreed that I should go to the Senate and Chief Ikiogha to the House of Reps. We even bought our party’s nomination forms. But we knew that our boss in Abuja will have his own agenda, which we cannot stop and can only collapse ours into his plan.
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“Eventually the former president came with his agenda and it consumed all of us. We had agenda number two and that was when my friend, Ikiogha, disagreed with me and for the very first time we parted ways.
“That agenda was what paved the way for me to be elected as a member of the House of Reps (in 2015) by virtue of the Senate position being zoned to Yenagoa, and Ikiogha could not get the ticket.“
Diri however noted that Ikiogha contributed greatly to his re-election in 2023 to the point of being a target of the opposition, who attacked his residence because he left their camp to work for him.
He stressed that in all that transpired, the late Ma Ikiogha was a rallying point for her son and his political associates, including those in the opposition, noting that she was always accommodating.
He urged the family to take solace in the fact that she left glowing legacies as a devoted Christian and that her life was being celebrated for touching lives in different ways.
In his tribute, Dr. Jonathan said the late nonagenarian was a mother to him and others that were close to her son.
He recalled that when Bayelsa was first created, she accommodated many who usually traveled from Port Harcourt to Yenagoa in her home.
Jonathan described her as a kind and generous woman, who received him and his close associate, King Amalate Turner, like her blood relations and that she lived such exemplary life until her last days on earth.
The former president equally recounted how after losing the presidential election in 2015, she was so saddened by the outcome that she starved herself of food for days.
He thanked God for sparing her life till the age of 91, adding that her little contribution to society will last the test of time.
In a sermon titled: “And She Died,” a cleric with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Amos Tubogbo, said in life, one might have the impression of living right but was not so in the sight of God.
Pastor Tubogbo noted that unless an individual lives according to the word of God, he or she will not be justified in the end.
The chief mourner, Dr. Ikiogha, appreciated those that identified with his family in their moment of grief, particularly the former president, his family, the state government for its support as well as the RCCG family.
He said his mother was being buried according to her wish to have a church crusade organised in her honour at the Kpansia Primary School field in Yenagoa.
Yakubu Dogara, former speaker of the house of representatives, has criticised northern leaders for failing to develop the region despite decades of political dominance.
Speaking at a town hall meeting for Christian leaders in northern Nigeria on Friday, Dogara said the region remains impoverished due to its leaders’ inability to invest in meaningful projects.
At the event, themed “Church and Society: Tax Reforms and Matters Arising,” Dogara addressed issues surrounding governance and development in the country.
“We are all northerners, and it should be made clear that President Tinubu or the South is not our problem; they have not come to cheat the North,” Dogara said.
“That is out of the question. Some are claiming that Yoruba people are getting appointments, but let’s reflect.
“We ruled this country for over 40 years when northerners were in power. What did we achieve? The North remains the same, impoverished by our own leaders.”
Dogara said the tax reform bills proposed by President Bola Tinubu are designed to bring transformation to the country.
He urged Nigerians to back the initiative, adding that the president should not be blamed for the current state of the north.
The former speaker also criticised northern governors for failing to utilise resources such as value added tax (VAT) revenue and federal allocations for meaningful development.
Dogara pointed to the Ajaokuta Steel Company as an example of the region’s wasted potential, saying the project, which was near completion, has since deteriorated due to neglect.
“We have had so much, but what did our governors do with the resources? They squandered them instead of investing in meaningful development,” he added.
“The (Ajaokuta Steel Company) project was almost finished, yet it was left to rot.”
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has shut down eight illegal rice shops and a warehouse in Karu LGA of Nasarawa state.
A statement by the agency on Friday said officials also seized “over 1,600 bags of counterfeit rice worth N5 billion” at Wuse and Garki markets in Abuja.
Kenneth Azikiwe, head of NAFDAC’s FCT directorate and leader of the operation, said the agency’s officials discovered counterfeit rice being repackaged in branded bags.
“Upon receiving these intelligence tips, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, issued a directive that only safe, quality, and wholesome food products should be available to Nigerians during the yuletide and beyond,” he said.
“She specifically instructed that those counterfeiting popular brands of rice should be arrested and their products removed from the market.
“This act of counterfeiting rice is illegal. Consumers believe they are buying quality products, but the quality is often substandard.”
Azikiwe said after surveillance activities, the agency uncovered facilities where a woman specialised in repackaging popular rice brands for sale to the public.
He said the counterfeiting was only done at night at a warehouse behind the woman’s residential house.
“Once the repackaging is completed, the products are moved to another warehouse during the day for sale to unsuspecting consumers,” he added.
An infant’s tiny shoes, a toddler’s pink heels, and a baby girl’s white cap; this was the scene around Islamic High School in Bashorun, Ibadan, Oyo state, 36 hours after a funfair that was meant to be held in the school premises turned tragic and claimed the lives of 35 minors.
The event, organised by Naomi Silekunola, ex-wife of Ooni of Ife, was intended to cater to 5,000 attendees. It received a good promotion, especially on Agidigbo FM, which is said to be the most-listened-to radio station in Ibadan.
The news of a free event with promises of gifts and scholarships spread quickly, and people thronged from far away to attend.
PEOPLE CAME FROM FAR AND NEAR
Idayat Abubakar, a witness, told TheCable that people travelled from as far as Ogbomosho, Iseyin, and Osun state on Tuesday — a day before the event was meant to commence — and camped inside the school, enduring the crisp coldness of the night.
Abubakar, who lives about 4km away, said she had gone to the place on Tuesday evening and interacted with the attendees who had already arrived. She showed the reporter a video of her and the other women in a merry mood, excited about meeting the ex-queen and enjoying the event.
She said as of 10 pm on Tuesday when she left the school, there were already about 2,000 people in the school, “if not more”.
“If you ask why someone like me was there, the event was not for the poor. For me, it was more or less like fun, like we went for a picnic; we had our dishes and lots of snacks for our kids, watched those that would win the scholarship and made posts on social media. I bought new shoes for my baby and made a new hairdo for her, just for the event,” Abubakar said.
She had invited her sister, who lives at Olodo, 12km away from the school, to spend the night at her place so they could arrive at the venue early enough.
“We got there as early as 5 am. When we arrived, I was number 49 in the queue; my sister was number 50. A woman made us take numbers to keep it organised. Some people had been there as early as 3 am, and some people slept there,” noted.
According to her, Oriyomi Hazmat, CEO of Agidigbo FM, had told the attendees that ticket sharing would begin at 6 am. She said Hazmat did not arrive at the venue until a few minutes before 8 am on D-day, and with his arrival came chaos.
She recollected that shortly before Hamzat’s arrival, some buses had dropped even more people off, further expanding the crowd.
‘THERE WAS NO SECURITY TO CONTROL THE CROWD’
“Immediately he got to the scene, people started hailing him. When he saw the crowd, he put his hand on his head. They had to smuggle him inside. While opening the gate for him, people rushed in and started falling on themselves. There was no security, no police,” Abubakar said.
“My younger sister got injured; she was stepped on with her baby. Till now, she has not recovered.
“A lot of us were trapped with our babies. I was backing my baby, and my sister was holding hers. So, when they pushed her, she fell on the floor. She fainted twice, and when I saw her, they were already pouring water on her head. At one point, the baby could not even breathe.
“They opened the walkway gate when the stampede started at the main gate. I was at the front of the gate, so I was able to walk in unhurt.”
Hamzat was said to have tried to manage the crowd from the gate’s entrance but was overwhelmed. Together with the officials he arrived with, they rescued some fallen children.
“When he could not control the crowd anymore, he and his boys had to jump the fence to control people from behind. But at this point, it was already out of control. He started hitting people with a big stick to stop them from falling further on those at the front,” Abubakar said.
“That was when I started hearing different things. We started seeing casualties; people fainted, lost their phones and belongings, and people fell on their children.”
Abubakar’s sister told TheCable that at some point, she had to bite some people to get them off her after she fell.
“People started climbing on our heads. I didn’t even have the energy to help myself, and I was carrying my 2-year-old baby. I was even biting some people because I didn’t have the strength to stand up and rescue myself. My daughter was crying; I was crying, but there was no one to help us,” the sister said.
“Oriyomi started pushing people to leave the road; some were jumping the fence. When I entered, I fainted. People were beating my chest and pouring water to revive me. Little children also fainted, and people were looking for their kids.”
Another witness, who identified as T & K, said the setting-up for the event was yet to be done when the incident happened.
According to him, the trucks bearing the gifts and refreshments could not access the school gate as the crowd blocked it.
He blamed the tragic turn of events on the impatience of the attendees.
When TheCable visited the University College Hospital (UCH), where some of the victims were rushed for medical attention, Funmilayo Adetuyibi, spokesperson for the facility, said five children were brought in dead immediately after the incident.
He said no patients were being tended to at the facility at that time and that relatives of the victims had recovered the corpses.
The security personnel at Best Western Hospital, Bashorun, told the reporter that there were also no victims at the facility. He said the patients brought in had either been discharged or transferred elsewhere.
The Oyo state police command said six people were critically injured and receiving treatment.
It added that Silekunola and seven others were arrested for their role in the event.
The talent manager and mother of Wizkid’s children, Jada Pollock, has shared her thoughts on the challenges of being labelled a “baby mama.”
In a recent interview with BET UK, she expressed her frustration about being defined solely by her relationship with Wizkid instead of being acknowledged for her own professional achievements.
Jada recounted a particular moment when she released a statement celebrating the growth of Afrobeat following Wizkid’s Grammy win.
Unfortunately, blogs chose to label her statement with “Wizkid’s baby mama,” which she felt diminished her entrepreneurial efforts and dedication. In her words:
“When Wizkid won a Grammy, I wrote a statement about how far Afrobeat has come. They published the statement, and the caption was “Wizkid baby mama.”
The narrative does not recognise that you’re an entrepreneur and a hardworking businesswoman. I’m not only a mother but also a manager, and I’ve helped build a legacy.”
Wizkid and Jada, who began dating in 2014, had their first child together, Zion, in 2017. In 2022, they welcomed another boy, AJ
Legendary Yoruba actor, Yinka Quadri has spoken on his rumoured death and the impact it had on his family.
Rumours claiming Quadri had passed away went viral in June, causing concern among his fans and family members.
The actor took to his social media pages to debunk the rumour and confirm that he was “alive and well”.
In a recent interview on Oyinmomo TV, the 65-year-old expressed disappointment with the individuals who spread the false news.
Quadri revealed that his children, who were overseas at the time, became worried when they heard about the rumoured death.
He said they started calling him frequently to confirm the news, which caused unnecessary “stress and anxiety” for the family. Yinka Quadri wrote:
“If it happened to someone who just came into the industry, the person will likely experience a setback. Or the person would leave the industry. But because this profession is inborn. That is not the first time. We have heard so many things in the past.
“Is it not because of social media that it is now being escalated? When I saw it I said ‘Weldone, you content creators’. Although when I saw it it was not as if I was happy. Just like the words of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu saying he stays off social media.
“No one would be happy whenever people spread rumours about them. Most especially, rumoured death. You will recall that I said I will not curse the person, but I leave him or her to God’s judgment.
“If the person thinks it is by spoiling another person’s name or causing sadness in another person’s family is an opportunity to attain success… because it got to a stage that it started to pain me.
“Despite the fact that my children are overseas and we have constant communication weekly or every three days, when they informed them they were like ‘I still spoke to Daddy last week’. Then they start calling.
“It got to a stage where everybody became troubled. They now started calling in the morning, put a call through in the afternoon, and call again in the evening to confirm.
“And I now said, the person that did this will get the right reward from God. Because it is not something good. My head does not pray for the person. Why should you wish me death? I wanted to keep quiet. Some people even thought I created the story myself. I asked if they thought I was looking for fame or name.”
I used to do odd jobs like washing, dressing dead bodies to take care of home – Patience Ozokwor
AFOLABI
Speaking on the sidelines of the pre-premiere dinner of Funke Akindele’s movie, ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’, Mama G said she did odd jobs to cater for her family before fortune smiled on her.
Patience Ozokwor revealed that among the odd jobs she did was work as mortician, and went on to praise Funke Akindele as a workaholic like herself. She said:
“Funke Akindele is a very strong woman. I love strong women. I am a strong woman. I am talking about the things that I do at home. I am a very strong woman, I went through thick and thin to become who I am today.
“I used to go to the morgue to dress dead bodies so my children could go to school and eat. I did a lot of things to make my family what they are today.
“You know they say no problem is accepted in his town but in my own place, they appreciate me a lot because they saw me through all these things.
“That’s the way I see Funke. When I see her, I look at myself. She’s a replica of who I am.”
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said he would meet the bail conditions of human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi.
Farotimi, in his alleged defamation case against Afe Babalola, was granted bail by Ekiti Magistrate Court on Friday.
The bail conditions include ₦30 million bond, 2 sureties (one shall be a house owner), submit his passport and shall not grant any media interview.
Peter Obi‘s decision to meet Farotimi’s bail condition was communicated by former spokesman of his presidential campaign organization, in 2023, Tanko Yunusa.
Yunusa disclosed this in a brief statement on his X handle, on Friday.
According to him, the former governor of Anambra State wanted the allegation against the former member of his campaign organization to be resolved in the best interest of all concerned.
“I consulted His Excellency, Peter Obi, as the leader of the Obidient Movement. As a respecter of rule of law, due process, and order he offered to take Dele Farontimi on the bail conditions.
“He thanked our courts and all concerned on this matter. His concern is that situation be resolved to the best interest of all concerned as well as our legal system.
“He extended his sincere appreciation to all concerned,” Obi’s aide stated.
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The ICPC unveiled the report on Thursday at its headquarters in Abuja, stating that none of the 330 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) assessed achieved full compliance with established standards.
The Supreme Court, alongside the other non-compliant MDAs, scored zero per cent on the compliance scorecard, highlighting systemic failures in critical areas such as whistleblower policies, strategic planning, and financial accountability.
“These agencies failed due to systemic issues, including the absence of whistleblower policies, inadequate strategic plans, and ineffective stock verification systems,” the ICPC stated.
The report also noted that many of the MDAs failed to produce financial reports or conduct audits, further eroding public trust in their operations.
The EICS evaluated MDAs based on five key indicators:
– Management Culture and Structure (MCS)
– Governance and Executive Management
– Financial Management Systems (FMS)
– Finance, Revenue, and Audit Processes
– Administrative Systems (AS), which includes ethics education and whistleblowing mechanisms.
The 15 institutions with 0.00 score include: Supreme Court of Nigeria, Nigeria Press Council (NPC), Legal Aid Council (LAC), National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG), and Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria (ICCON).
The rest are Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Gombe; National Obstetrics Fistula Centre, Ningi, Bauchi State; Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Jos; Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State; Federal College of Forestry Mechanization (FCFM), Mando, Kaduna State; Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State; and Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, and University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court granted bail to Dele Farotimi on the following conditions:
1. ₦30 million bond
2. Two sureties (one of whom must be a property owner), submission of his passport, and
3. A prohibition on granting media interviews.
Dele Farotimi’s bail was also confirmed by human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on his X handle on Friday.
Recall that a petition filed by a prominent lawyer and Senior Advocate in Nigeria, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), prompted Farotimi’s arrest.
He was remanded in prison custody on December 7, 2024, after being arrested on 16 counts of criminal defamation, following the publication of his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
House of Representatives member for Kaduna North Constituency, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, has called for the scrapping of some yearly expenses of ministries, departments and agencies.
Bello El-Rufai noted that ministries, departments and agencies cannot include vehicles and furniture every year in their budgets.
He stated this during the debate on the 2025 budget on Wednesday. He explained that some items ministries, departments and agencies included in the 2024 budgets in their recurrent expenditure should not be allowed in the 2025 budget.
“Sir, the recurrent issue is in every budget, even a young person like myself, we budget for vehicles every year, we budget for utensils every year. So what I would like us to do, sir, to open more revenues or block loopholes is to look at all these ministries that are bringing their budgets.
“If they bought vehicles last year, please, they should just relax now. Vehicles do not expire. These are the little things, Mr. Speaker, that if, unless we start looking at them, the loopholes we talk about will not come out. I want to thank the leadership for sessions like this and other experienced members. It’s a learning opportunity, but on this, the Orasanye report, sir, should be implemented. It is key. That is one,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker further demanded financial discipline from leaders just as Nigerians are encouraged to endure the current hardship in the country.
“The second and most important thing to me, since I was a, well, I’m still a young man, since I was a boy, budgets every year come with new computers, new furniture. These things don’t expire, sir. We should cut them out totally. We can’t be asking Nigerians, we can’t have a tax reform bill that could shape the fiscal shape of this country. Well, as leaders, we are not cutting anything.
“So I urge the chairman, I’m honored, sir, that I chair a committee that has CBN, but my budget is not on here. But committee chairmen that are more experienced than myself should look into this. Nigerians are tired of every agency buying fork and knife every year,” he added.
A ₦9.36 billion budget has been made for domestic and international travel and refreshments for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for the upcoming year.
Naija News reports that this information is detailed in the 2025 Appropriation Bill released by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
On Wednesday, the president presented a budget proposal amounting to ₦49.7 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The fiscal document is titled: ‘Restoration Budget, Securing Peace and Building Prosperity.’
As per the budget proposal, President Tinubu is set to spend ₦7.44 billion on travel and refreshments, while Vice President Shettima will allocate ₦1.9 billion for similar expenses.
In 2025, the president’s international travel is expected to cost ₦6.14 billion, with local trips amounting to ₦873.9 million.
Additionally, ₦431.6 million has been designated for the president’s refreshments, meals, and catering supplies.
For the vice president, international travel expenses are projected at ₦1.31 billion, with local travel costing ₦417.5 million.
The budget for refreshments, meals, and catering supplies for the vice president is set at ₦186.02 million.
In the first quarter of 2024, President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and First Lady Remi Tinubu incurred travel expenses totalling no less than ₦5.24 billion for both local and international trips, as revealed by an analysis conducted using GovSpend, a civic technology platform that monitors and analyzes federal government expenditures.
Budget For Presidency On Cars, Fuel, Honorarium, SAs Office
Meanwhile, the Office of the President has put forward a budget of ₦4,760,035,960 for vehicles, which includes ₦3,661,566,123 allocated for the acquisition of operational vehicles for the State House and ₦1 billion designated for the replacement of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs).
Additionally, ₦255,728,214 has been allocated for the purchase of cars, with ₦127,864,107 specifically reserved for the procurement of SUVs for both the president and vice president and another ₦127,864,107 set aside for operational vehicles within the Presidential Conference Car Unit (CCU) fleet.
Furthermore, a total of ₦5,938,883,548 has been proposed for honorarium, the construction of an office complex for Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants, and fuel for generators.
The budget outlines that ₦2,118,521,128 is designated for sitting allowances/honorarium, ₦1,989,579,359 for fuel, and ₦1,830,783,061 for the construction of the office complex for Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants.