Buhari Will Inaugurate N19.6 Billion Customs Headquarters Today
By Abdullahi Ahmad Bamalli
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) will start operations at the newly built corporate headquarters worth N19, 605, 133, 460 billion in Abuja.
Today, President Muhammadu Buhari will inaugurate the massive building in a ceremony that will be attended by top government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.
Adewale Adeniyi, Deputy Comptroller-general of Customs, who took newsmen round the building yesterday, described the building as a world class architectural and technical office complex befitting its status as Nigerian Customs and a testament to the skill, experience and ingenuity of its designers and executors of the project.
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The project was conceived in 2002 with the aim of providing a comfortable and conducive working environment for staff and all other authorised visitors to the building. But construction work on it started in 2007.
The DCG said except for the determination of the current Comptroller-general of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) to ensure the completion of the building within his time in office, the construction work was delayed by variations and adjustments.
He told journalists that staff of the service would be moved into the new facility in phases but failed to say what would happen to the old office building.
“The design and construction was done by indigenous Nigerian firms employing Nigerian staff of all categories, and thus we doff our hats to say that this is truly a Building that encompasses the ‘I can do all things’ Nigerian spirit,” he stated.
The building sits on approximately 25,000 square metres of luxuriant, ample and comfortable working spaces, all spread over 13 (thirteen) floors made up of a basement, ground floor, 1st to 10th Floors and finally a penthouse.The height of the building above the ground is approximately 40 (metres), and is one of the tallest buildings within the business district of Maitama, and therefore stamps an aura of pride and importance amongst all other neighbouring buildings within the vicinity,” DCG Adeniyi said.
The building is subdivided into four zones for ease of reference and identification. The zones include wing A, wing 8, tower, and the bridge building.
The Tower consists of the largest executive and upper cadre staff offices and sits on 12 floors including a penthouse. Also included in the Tower, is the Head Office; Main Auditorium with a seating capacity of about 150 – 200 persons. Each of the lower-level floors also has a meeting/conference room and a training hall for staff training and development.
