From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, yesterday inspected the ongoing renovation of the headquarters of the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA), in Abuja, noting that it was at 92% completion.
Umar Farouq said the building would be ready in two weeks and a date would be fixed for commissioning.
“We can all see for ourselves that the work is nearly in completion. From what the engineers have told me, about 92 percent completion has been reached.
“They assured me that in the next two weeks precisely, this place will be fully completed and we will be able to commission the project.
“I am very impressed with the level of work. It started in 2019 but then they were only mobilised and it stopped for some time before the coming of the new NEMA DG.
“I must commend his zeal and diligence in ensuring that this work continues. It is extremely important that NEMA has a befitting office where staff have a conducive atmosphere to discharge their primary responsibility of immediate response to disasters in this country.”
Also, NEMA Director General, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, said earlier funds were not available for the project but appreciated the federal government for the resources to finish the project and making it ready for commissioning under the Buhari-led administration.
He said: “There were no funds available for this project. Contractors were just mobilised and the work was not going anywhere. So there was a need to see that the work that this administration started, the administration should commission it also. The Minister has come here to see for herself and assess the whole situation. From her view she seems to be very impressed with what we have done here.
“The contractors have done a very good job. They are about to give us a world class NEMA building.
“You can see here that we have clinic, control centre and we have structures to accommodate everybody.
“The place we are using temporarily, some don’t even have desks to operate, so there was need to really relocate back here. By the end of this month, we would be coming back here.”