I didn't encounter evil spirits in Aso Rock - Adesina counters Abati's claims

Adesina, in a lengthy post shared on his Facebook page on Friday, May 19, 2023, narrated his experience of living inside the Aso Rock for the past seven years plus, which represents a stark contrast to what his predecessor, Reuben Abati had said.

Abati is a renowned columnist and television journalist who served in Adesina's position between 2011 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2016, Abati penned an article titled ‘The spiritual side of Aso Rock’, where he gave an account of his stay in the presidential villa wherein he claimed “a force higher than what we can imagine” dwelled.

The columnist had suggested that the state house “should be converted into a museum and abandoned”, adding that a cleric disclosed that Aso Rock was “full of evil spirit.”

But, Adesina in his own account dismissed such claims, insisting that he did not and was yet to experience the evil spirits Abati wrote about.

He said, “My predecessor in office (read, ancestor) Dr Reuben Abati, had alleged that Aso Villa is haunted, and should be turned into a museum. Abandoned. True? I didn’t see any of his rather wild claims, not in eight years."

Abati had also claimed in the seven-year-old article that a pastor had spoken to him about an imminent fire incident in the villa which eventually came to pass, but his successor maintained that no such doom has occurred during his sojourn.

“Fire accidents in the Villa? I lived there for eight years. And not even a knockout exploded. Reason to be thankful to God. A good in goodbye.”

On Abati's statements that someone always died in the presidential villa and that he found it difficult to sleep in his assigned apartment, Adesina said he never experienced anything of such.

He said, “True? False. To the glory of God, I never experienced anything like this. Human beings normally face one vicissitude or the other, it is part of life. But God equally spares His own. No ailment to nurse, other than things typical of aspiring senior citizens like me. And nothing died under the waist. Lol.”

“Well, I slept in my house in the Villa for eight years. And I snored, even so loudly to wake myself up. So, it’s really different strokes for different folks. And it really has nothing to do with Aso Villa. Yes, sound sleep is another good in goodbye.”