By; Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
Bauchi State Commissioner of Housing and Environment, Rt. Hon. Danlami Ahmed Kawule has dubbed the state past administrators, civilian or military as short of vision and foresight to have allowed and used the previous Governor’s office that looked like classroom building partitioned into offices lacking the necessary conducive atmosphere.
He said, “Administrations in the State were short of vision and the foresight to have allowed and used the previous Governor’s Office which looked like a Classroom Building partitioned into offices. It is no doubt to say that the former Office Building lacked the necessary conducive atmosphere and the aesthetics to be No. 1 Office Building housing the Governor in the State”.
Receiving the keys to the New Complex Governor’s office from the building contractor in Bauchi friday, the commissioner said, “Accordingly, to give you an insight on how inconvenient the previous Office was, I will have to tell you that in one office, three Directors of Security, Political, General Services, including other Clerical Staff, were accommodated in just one room”.
“This was highly inconvenient and for decades, have posed lack of needed secrecy in the official activities in the Governor’s Office Building. It is beyond reasonable doubt to say that, some other offices in the state such as the Treasury Directorate, Revenue Office, the State Secretariat etc. which are administratively lower in status, are far better than the previous Governor’s Office Building”.
Rt Hon. Danlami Kawule explained, “It is therefore against this backdrop that the visionary Governor Bala Mohammed, upon his swearing-in as an elected Governor of Bauchi state in 2019, wasted no time in making preparations to construct this New Office Building”.
“One of the key areas to commend the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed is that he ensures an excellent and prudent resource management and utilization especially in this era of hyper-inflation, to ensure that he delivers people’s oriented projects including this Office Complex the Ministry is today taking over from the Contractor”.
He revealed that the Modern Governor’s Office Complex with a futuristic design, comprised of Sixty-One (61) offices as against the Twenty-Three (23) offices in the previous Governor’s Office, as well as Eleven (11) Chambers for Meetings including Exco Chamber as against the two (2) Chambers in the previous office building.
Kawule who holds the belief that the New Office Complex will enhance and ensure a conducive working environment to the Governor and his Supporting Staff in discharging their official duties, said that also for handing over by another Contractor, Messes Cascara Oil & Gas Nig. LTD, is the contract for furnishing, panelling and installation of equipment at the New Governor’s Office Complex.
Earlier, handing over the keys to the new edifice to the commissioner by the main contractor, Msssrs Architectronix Ltd Chairman, Mr. Reuben Okoya, tasked the Bauchi state government to find ways of maintaining the edifice properly against damage or destroyment, saying “We would like keeping this edifice look like this everyday, so that other state governors, Ministers coming here, let them be shocked of what Bauchi has done”.
Mr. Reuben Okoya told the commissioner, “So please, let the maintenance of this building be your priority for you and your team, so that everyday will look like this for the next 20 – 30 – 40 – 50 years, adding “This is just the first phase, more are coming, the commissioner is on our neck, there is ICC across the street, there is clinic, there.are residences which are coming on monthly basis. There is no going back, absolutely no going back, only forward for Bauchi state”.
OKoya said, “I remember three years ago when we started this project, we came to the Executive Council and we presented the project and several commissioners then we’re asking, can you do this, Your Excellency, is this not a BM white-elepant project, in front of him they were asking, is this possible, are you sure you can do it? His Excellency, just keep quite, and say we will see. Today it has come to light?
“People don’t believe sucha project would actually spring up in Bauchi state, with scarce resources, with environment within security in the nation, with rising Dollar price and goods, and things like that. In any case, I want specially thank His Excellency for the boldness and acumen to actual project like this that forms a foundation for the future of Bauchi state”
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