BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF
Since his assumption of duty along with his commissioners four years down the line in 2020 amid COVID, The Executive Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission NASC, Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE along with his commissioners made the lingering issue of Infrastructural deficit bedeviling the commission top priority.
Beginning from his first year in office, to the second year and third year, the commission’s leadership has made it a pet project to bridge the gap of Infrastructural paucity, that had not only hampered its operations, but affected the delivery of its mandate.
Therefore, determined to address the critical issue, Amshi along with his commissioners had embarked on inspection tour of the facility provided and allocated by the national assembly at the three arms zone on many occasions, along with both committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Determined to overcome the two decades accomodation problems bedeviling the National Assembly Service Commission NASC since it’s inception , he impressed on the need to embark on genuine and wholistic decisions that had to do with the construction of a befitting office accomodation for the commission, that will stall the gap of movement from the commission and the national assembly, and to also be on the same page with thea body it is superintending and supervising administratively.
After many visits by the commission and the joint committee of the National Assembly to the location, it was agreed to re-engage the engineers, architects and relevant bodies / companies that earlier quoted for N2.5 Billion in the previous years, to additional N7.5 Billion that was reviewed to 11 Billion in 2023, when the gigantic project was inaugurated against the high cost of building materials that had varied the initial costs.
With the provision in the 2022 budget, the project was inaugurated by the leadership of the National Assembly to rewrite the history of over two decades commission that started in a small office at Wuse, and now at a private residence at Utako in the nation’s city.
This will address the high cost of rent payments, defaced design and unconducive atmosphere it is currently facing at the Utako office.
Though, the commission under Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE along with his commissioners had made concerted efforts at redesigning the private structure into an office, bereft of any major structural adjustments against the rental agreement.
Soon after the inauguration of the new office accomodation for the commission at the three arms zone, the commission promised early completion, commissioning and occupation within the project timeline, two years down the line , the project is over 90 percent completed, inspite of the more than double costs of building materials that included cements, woods, paints, among other structural requirements .
With the current speed , Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE and his team has resolved the over two decades accomodation problems, logistic problems among many others to bring the project to an end in the shortest possible time.
The gigantic project and structure due for commissioning and Inauguration before the end of the current commission, no doubt will be a dream come true to reality.
For Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE and his commissioners , the many decades accomodation problems of the commission that had been a mere conception will now be history made and promise kept by the current commission.
With the near completion and proposed commissioning, the National Assembly Service Commission NASC will no doubt carry out its statutory functions without hinderance of manpower and infrastructure deficit.
The multi billion naira project that was prone to delay, became a different case in the National Assembly Service Commission NASC, as constantly the ongoing office accomodation project had witnessed gradual progress and completion.
This is rare in the context of Nigeria public service, in view of records of abandoned projects across MDA’s and govy organizations, that the current leadership under Amshi has changed the narration from negative to positive stance.
For Amshi and his commissioners, the envisaged completion and commissioning of the new office accomodation strategically located at the three arms zone, will bring to an end permanently, the persistent office accomodation quagmire witnessed in the last 25 years.
The positive development has also demonstrated robust public service and result oriented Nigerians that had contributed their quota to national development.
Written BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF on yus.abubakar3@gmail.com.
