…Calls for maintenance of public buildings
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
FCT Minister , Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello has flagged- Off the renovation works on of the Area One the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase One in Abuja.
In a ceremony on Tuesday to kick start the renovation work at the Secretariat complex , the minister described the exercise as a milestone in the efforts by the FCTA to renovate public buildings and infrastructure in the Federal Territory.
He disclosed that the Federal Secretariat Complex, like many other public buildings in the FCT was constructed 30 years ago and required rehabilitation.
Bello noted that the exercise is the culmination of several discussions with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation who was very passionate about the provision of conducive working environment for civil servants.
The Minister said “This phase of what we are doing is just a tip of the iceberg in what needs to be done. We have to all work together to get funding to rehabilitate this building and all the other public buildings in Abuja.”
Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad explained that the contract of the first phase was awarded to Messrs. Julius Berger Plc at the sum of N8,110,665,676.79 with completion period of 24 months.
He noted that the current FCT Administration has spent most of its time completing ongoing projects and is now trying to rehabilitate the roads that were built 30 years ago, adding that failure to do this will make it difficult to derive utility out of the existing projects.
Meanwhile, the minister has frowned at the level of abuse of public buildings in the FCT, as he called for reforms in the existing procurement system for the maintenance of public facilities and suggested that a cadre of civil servants should be established for the maintenance of the public buildings
Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Mrs. Folashade Esan, commended the FCT Administration for working to ensure that the environment where civil servants spend most of their time is conducive with the added benefits of increased productivity.
