PHOTO: Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita (left); Director, Legal, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), Barr. Adebola Odugebsan; Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, OHCSF, Leon Lawrence Alibo; and Managing Director/CEO, Alpha Mead Group, Engr. Femi Akintunde at the MoU signing ceremony between the Office of the Head of Civil Service and Alpha Mead Group on the Pilot PPP Policy Initiative of the Ground Floor Blcok A and Parking Lot of the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase II in Abuja
As part of efforts to improve the safety of civil servants and boost workplace productivity, the Federal Government and Alpha Mead Development Company (AMDC), Nigeria’s first Real Estate Development Company Certified to international standards, and a Strategic Business Unit of Alpha Mead Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative to remodel the ground floor of Block A, and the car parking lot of the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase II, Abuja.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of Civil Service of the Federation explained that the PPP initiative has become necessary in the face of paucity of funds and consequent lack of maintenance, which have led to deterioration of the secretariat facilities.
She noted that the state of the section of the building was no longer conducive for workers, hence the partnership was necessary to give the building a facelift. “We have been seeking for funds to work on the secretariat for many years, so we decided to think out of the box and go into PPP to resuscitate the federal secretariat,” she furthered.
According to her, the Development Control unit of the Federal Capital Territory
had scrutinized and approved the modified design of the secretariat, and the process has the full cooperation of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC); adding that the success of this first phase will determine if the Government will expand the project to all the phases of the secretariat.
Commenting on the new partnership, Engr. Femi Akintunde, the Managing Director/CEO of Alpha Mead Group said that productivity enhancement was achievable with a conducive working environment.
He said that the pilot project would start with the secretariat’s Ground Floor, Block A, and the secretariat complex parking lot; where over 1,000 Sqms of office space and 800 car park spaces will be created respectively to improve safety and productivity of staff.
“Partnering with government is usually slow but I have seen speed and determination in this project. As private sector participant, this gives us a lot of impetus and further fuels our resolve to work with all stakeholders to create serviceable and maintainable work space that will meet world standards”.
“The Federal Secretariat is the engine room that drives the nation’s economy and must be conducive. We are looking at taking limited resources and turning it into something great,” Akintunde said, adding that the project would be delivered in six months and ready for inauguration in January 2019.
By Marc Philips
