The crumbling of Kaduna Federal Secretariat

Located in Kawo, Kaduna North Local Government Area, the Federal Secretariat valued in billions of naira looks unkept having suffered from lack of renovation for many years.The surroundings of the secretariat, managed by the Federal Ministry of Lands Housing & Urban Development look unsafe for workers there.“The filth surrounding the building can cause an epidemic […]

Located in Kawo, Kaduna North Local Government Area, the Federal Secretariat valued in billions of naira looks unkept having suffered from lack of renovation for many years.
The surroundings of the secretariat, managed by the Federal Ministry of Lands Housing & Urban Development look unsafe for workers there.
“The filth surrounding the building can cause an epidemic because grass and dirt are not properly taken care of. I’m surprised that a place where hundreds of people go to work daily can be this dirty,” an environmental expert with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) observed.
It was observed that because of long neglect of the building, parts of the structure are leaking while the walls have become bare.
Apart from the Federal Ministry of Lands Housing & Urban Development that has two units such as – Works, Housing at the secretariat, zonal offices of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), National Youth Service Corpse (NYSC), National Identity Management office, Federal Character Commission, among many other agencies, are situated in the building.
“Everyone knows that this secretariat is not properly taken care of. Each time I come to office, I always don’t want to go near the fence because the dirt can harbour dangerous animals,” a staff in the secretariat said.
The office in charge of the building, the Federal Ministry of Lands Housing & Urban Development said the building has not been totally abandoned.
Deputy Director Lands, Federal Controller, Bams Oladimeji Bennett told Daily Trust that government is planning to renovate the structures across the country.
“Yes, some of the buildings have suffered neglect; government will do everything within its powers to ensure the secretariat is renovated,” Bennett assured.
“We have sent some bills to our headquarters in Abuja for the renovation. We have routinely cleared the grass but certainly, the places that are leaking won’t be tackled until renovation is done,” Bennett added.
The Federal Controller who could not state the total money required for the renovation said, “The bill of quantities could be raised up or reduced. What we sent is not sacrosanct. If what we sent to the headquarters is too low, they have the power to jerk it up. If it’s too high, the headquarters will take it down. So, we will be wrong if we give you a figure that is needed for the renovation.”
On how offices are shared in the secretariat, Bennett said, “Public buildings are developed with tax payers’ money and all MDAs and other federal agencies if they applied, have the right to be accommodated if there are empty spaces. Some agencies move out and once they leave, we allocate empty offices to those that request. No state establishment is allowed to be here.”
He said the ministry is passionate about the renovation of the secretariat.