The minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, and the minister of state, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, have urged the federal government to release funds to complete the new National Directorate of Employment (NDE) headquarters project in Gudu, Abuja.
During an inspection of the seven-storey complex yesterday, Dingyadi expressed satisfaction with the pace of work but stressed the need for adequate funding to ensure timely completion.
The minister further emphasised the importance of moving NDE into the facility without delay, noting that the agency had been spending heavily on rent.
“It’s fairly adequate enough to accommodate the departments. I think the work is so far very good. It’s looking nice and excellent, the contractor is trying very hard to ensure that he meets our targets. So far, so good.
I do hope that the NDE will try to move in as quickly as possible. We are already paying rent on that one. By the time we are here, that will be off our necks. I hope we will have the necessary funding to finish the project to the end,” Dingyadi said.
On her part, Onyejeocha lamented the poor working conditions of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), stressing that overcrowded rented offices have slowed down the agency’s productivity for years.
She also called for urgent release of funds to speed up the project’s completion.
“Sometimes we can’t even access the procurement or accounts department because two people cannot transact business in the same space. So you can imagine what staff have been going through, productivity is very low.”
Right now, even the minister of state doesn’t have an office, where I am staying currently belongs to the ministry of aviation, if money is provided, this project can be finished before the end of the year, but if funds are delayed, it could take another two years, which God forbid. We will keep pleading with the authorities to make sure this edifice is completed with the speed of light,” Onyejeocha said.
In his remarks, the director-general of the NDE, Silas Agara, lauded the commitment of the ministers and reiterated the need to finalise the project.
He recalled that the agency had operated from rented offices for over three decades and expressed optimism that the new building would transform staff productivity.
“Since the creation of NDE, we’ve been operating from a rented facility but it takes a leader with the political will to make this facility available. Once completed, this edifice will motivate staff and reposition the NDE to serve Nigerians better,” he said.
He assured that once fully equipped, the building would accommodate all NDE headquarters staff and support other agencies under the Ministry of Labour.
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