Federal civil servants in Osun State have expressed frustration over the prolonged delay in completing the federal secretariat project, 14 years after it was first awarded.
The project, located at Oke-Bale along Ibokun Road in Osogbo, was awarded in 2011 and initially scheduled for completion in 2014. However, the building remains unfinished nearly a decade later.
Some civil servants who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Osogbo appealed to the Federal Government to investigate the reasons for the delay and take urgent steps to complete the project.
A staff member of a federal ministry in Osun, Simeon Olanrewaju, said the delay was unacceptable, noting that 14 years was too long for a project of such importance.
“If care is not taken, with the way the project is dragging, it might end up being abandoned,” Olanrewaju warned. He urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure its completion under his Renewed Hope Agenda.
Another civil servant, Mary Richards, described the project as seemingly unending. She said the delay had forced many federal offices in Osun to operate from scattered and unsuitable rented apartments.
“Most of the offices of the Federal Government in the state are in rented buildings that are not befitting. Only a few agencies have their own offices,” she said, calling on the government to speed up the project.
Similarly, Mayowa Olabisi, another federal worker, said it was unacceptable that a three-storey building could take more than a decade to complete.
“If the state government has a functional secretariat, there is no reason the Federal Government should not have one in Osun,” he said. Olabisi urged the government to summon the contractor to explain the prolonged delay.
A private building consultant, Abass Ogunlana, blamed the situation on poor project handling and monitoring, saying it was disappointing that billions of naira had been spent without visible progress.
Engineer Lukman Ayanfe also criticized the delay, describing it as damaging to the image of the Federal Government and demoralizing for civil servants in the state.
Responding to inquiries, Sebastian Abang, Chief Resident Architect at the Federal Ministry of Housing in Osun, said the project was about 80 percent complete.
He attributed the slow pace to limited fund releases, explaining that construction progress depends on annual budget allocations.
“The project’s completion timeline depends on budgetary provisions and fund releases. Decisions on this are made at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja,” Abang stated.
The long-delayed federal secretariat project continues to raise concerns among civil servants who hope for its completion under the current administration.
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