FG to remodel Abuja Federal Secretariat

The federal government is to remodel the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to ensure the safety of staff and boost productivity, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita has said.
She made this known while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the pilot PPP with Alpha Mead Development Company Ltd yesterday in Abuja.
She said that the MoU was to enable the company to remodel the ground floor and the car parking lots of block ‘A’ of the complex, Phase II.
Mrs. Oyo-Ita added that facilities in the secretariat had deteriorated over the years due to lack of maintenance, while others had become obsolete, noting that the state of the building was no longer conducive for workers; hence, the partnership was necessary to give the building a facelift.
She said: “We have been seeking for funds to work on the secretariat for many years, so we decided to think out of the box and go into PPP to resuscitate the federal secretariat.
“The building is in a deplorable state. If you give staff a good working environment, they would be encouraged to put in their best.
This is a pilot project, if we are able to succeed in this, we will expand the project to all the phases of the secretariat.”
She explained that the Development Control unit of the Federal Capital Territory had scrutinized the modified design of the secretariat and urged the company that would handle the job to ensure that the project is delivered according to specification and on time.
Group Managing Director of Alpha Mead Development Company Ltd., Femi Akintunde, said productivity enhancement was achievable with aconducive working environment.
He said the pilot project would start with the secretariat’s Ground Floor, Block A, where over 1,000 office spaces would be created and 800 car park spaces to ensure safety and sanity of staff.
He said: “Partnering with government is usually slow. But I have seen speed and determination in this project on the part of the Head of Service.
“We want to create a serviceable and maintenance work space that will meet world standard. The federal secretariat is the engine room that drives the nation’s economy and must be conducive. We are looking attaking limited resources and turning it into something great.”
Mr Akintunde added that the project would take six months to complete and it would be ready for inauguration in January 2019.