By Godwin Anene
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday commissioned the multi-billionaire Police office and residential complex for operatives of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The building complex also named after President Buhari is being commissioned after ten years the project was awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to house senior police officers.
This is even as outrage trailed the commission of the project despite ongoing works at some section of the complex by invited guests who decried the rush inaugurating the project when it had not been fully completed.
The police complex located in Omagwa, Ikwerre Local Government of the state is an intervention infrastructure consisting of an administrative block, an armoury, gate house, underground cell and 66 units of accommodation made up of the commander’s residence, second-in-command’s residence and 64 one-bedroom flats.
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President Buhari, represented by his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the commissioning, said the inauguration of the project is in line with his administration’s determination to reform the Nigeria Police Force.
He said the APC-led government is committed to providing adequate housing for police officers serving across the country.
“Today’s event meets two objectives. First, it is an important part of our government commitment to improve lives and livelihoods of police officers and men. It is also another milestone in my administration’s pursuit of the peace prosperity and development of the Niger Delta.
“Establishing adequate security is integral to this objective, which is why we have committing significant resources to project such as we are about to commission.
“This project is a means by which we can alleviate the accommodations challenges for senior security personnel posted to Rivers and ultimately enhance the security footprint in the region.
“The cumulative impact of this and similar projects would be the improvement of security in the state, and consolidation of the economic and social life of the people of this area”, he said.
In his welcoming remark, NDDC Sole Administrator, Effiong Akwa, said, “Project was abandoned for ten years as all six contractors were being owed for various milestones completed.”
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He said the commission under his headship, with push from the President has been able to complete it against all odds, particularly with paucity of funds, aggravated by reluctance of oil firms to remit funding to the commission in defiance of the NDDC Act.
Akwa said, “Oil companies are reluctant to remit funds against the provisions of the act establishing NDDC. When you confront them, they give all sorts of excuses, creating funding challenges for the commission.”
Governor Nyesom Wike, disappointed at the propensity of the NDDC to abandon projects, said he was on the verge of taking over the project seven months ago, adding that he NDDC probably got wind of his intention and acted fast to save the situation by completing the project.
Wike said, “This project shouldn’t last one year, if NDDC was committed to effective service delivery. There is no collaboration we have had with NDDC that we have completed. And why would NDDC not be abandoning project? You (NDDC) declare projects without conceptualisation, without funding, no commitment.”
The host governor said NDDC remains a cash cow for political patronage where appointees are distracted by those who appointed them to divert set funds to run elections while genuine development projects are abandoned.
“My problem with NDDC is, no synergy with the mandate states. You distort the development plans of the states. Sometimes you go into our schools, health centers to build, who told you it’s our priority?”, he said.
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He said the NDDC, through supervising Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Sen Godswill Akpabio, was already defaulting on a N2.5Billion NDDC counterpart funding to dualise the road leading to the commission’s headquarters, vowing, “If he fails to release the money, I will make sure you (NDDC) do not use that road”.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Alkali Baba Usman, said, “The SPU building “is a legacy project, first as the first major purpose-built facility for the SPU since its establishment in 2009. It demonstrates NDDC commitment to supporting the President Buhari and the police in the task of internal security.
“It will enhance the operational efficiency of the police in Rivers state, especially in the host environment and also help government in addressing the housing deficiency in the country.”
