Buhari inaugurates N3.61bn Federal Secretariat in Awka Secretariat

By Francis Onyeukwu

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday inaugurated a N3.61 billion Federal Secretariat in Awka, the Anambra capital.

The secretariat is named after the country’s first female Head of Service, Engr. Ebele Ofunneamaka Okeke.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project has 498 offices with a-300-capacity parking lot, four committee rooms and one banking hall.

It also has a post office, an exhibition hall and a conference hall.

The secretariat was inaugurated virtually by the president, along with six other Federal
Government-owned projects executed in other parts of the country.

The six were the 2nd Niger Bridge, Lokoja-Oweto Bridge in Nasarawa/Benue, Ikom Bridge, 200-km Abuja–Kaduna-Kano Road, Federal Secretariat, Gusau and Federal Secretariat, Yenagoa.

In a speech, Buhari said he was delighted that his administration was able to achieve the projects in the twilight of his administration.

He said although his government was leaving a huge debt for the country, the money was used for infrastructure development.

According to him, infrastructure development is key to poverty alleviation and wealth creation in the country.

Buhari described the 2nd Niger Bridge as “a bridge of choice”, adding that he also built a secretariat in Awka to ease accommodation challenges facing federal workers in Anambra.

Performing the symbolic tape cutting on behalf of the president, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, thanked Buhari for a number of projects executedm in Anambra and other South-East states.

Ngige said that in spite that Mr Buhari did not enjoy enough political support from the zone in the 2015 and 2019 General Elections, he was able to site key projects in the area.

He advised federal workers in the state to ensure they managed the secretariat efficiently to serve them optimally.

NAN reports that Ngige was accompanied at the ceremony by the Minister of State, Science and Technology, Henry Ikoh, among other top State and Federal Government functionaries.

(NAN)