There are indications that President Umaru Yar’Adua may not come to Dodan Barracks, Ikoyi in Lagos for his vacation as earlier scheduled.
It would be recalled that the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Segun Adeniyi, recently told journalists that the President will be spending his vacation at the Presidential Resort on the Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River State, the Dodan Barracks in Lagos State, as well as his home state of Katsina.
A visit by Saturday Independent to the barracks on Thursday revealed that there were no preparations on ground to receive the President if he eventually arrives in Lagos. Our reporter who visited the place reported that it was business as usual at the barracks as people, both soldiers and civilians, were seen trooping in and out of the barracks.
It was also gathered that security situation around the premises also did not indicate the coming of the President. The only change noticed was the free flow of traffic around Obalende Bus Stop, which is not a common occurrence in the area.
However, a source in the barracks, who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, said that there are no special arrangements towards receiving the President.
His words: "We are actually aware that President Yar’Adua said he will be coming to the barracks for his vacation, but up till now I personally do not know when exactly he will be arriving. We have not been briefed on the exact date he would be coming.
"From what we also gathered, this is not the only place he would be spending the vacation, there are other places he would go. So, we cannot be certain about when he would be coming. Even if we are going to make any special arrangements, we must be certain of when he is coming.
"I want to believe that notice will be sent to us prior to his arrival, maybe by then, if we are to put any special preparations in place, we would be informed. But, if he does not request for any, then you can be sure that we won’t have to bother ourselves here. If he chooses to come in the midnight, all we would do here is to tighten our security and receive him.
"One other thing is if he is around, many people may not get to know about it. It depends on his orders. You know he is coming here to spend his vacation, so if he says he does not want people to know that he is around, ours is to ensure compliance with that. At the moment, we are not too sure of his coming," the source said.
Meanwhile, as President Yar’Adua looks forward to spending his leave at the Obudu Cattle Ranch Resort, the Cross River State Government has disclosed that it is preparing adequately to ensure that the Presidential Retreat on the mountaintop, which is Nigeria own version of America’s Camp David is ready to accommodate him.
But the state government said there was nothing extraordinary about the preparation to host the President on the mountaintop because the visit is a private one, which is expected to be low-keyed, and perhaps silent in nature.
Governor Liyel Imoke’s Chief Press Secretary, Patrick Ugbe, told Saturday Independent that the facilities at the Lodge are in order and awaiting the President’s arrival. "We are, for sure, preparing to receive the President, but it is a private visit that would not be accompanied by any fanfare because the President is coming to Presidential Retreat to rest. It is a kind of personal retreat for the President so he does not require distractions in form of loud preparations and fanfare," Ugbe said.
He also disclosed that the date of arrival of the President at the Obudu Ranch Resort was not known when he spoke to Saturday Independent, but expressed optimism that it would soon be made known. For now he said it is left for the Presidency to decide when Yar’Adua would arrive.
The streets of Calabar, the state capital and those of Obudu and Obanliku Local Government Areas the immediate catchments areas of the Ranch Resort are devoid of the banners or other insignia that would have heralded the arrival of the President to the state.
Feelers from the Becheve community, where the ranch is located also indicate that the people are going about their daily business; with most of them oblivious of the fact that their community would be hosting Yar’Adua for some days as he spends his leave.
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