From Uche Usim, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari will lead other senior government officials and members of the diplomatic community to unveil the new headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) located in Maitama area of Abuja.
Briefing the media in a pre-inauguration address, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Strategic Research and Policy, Wale Adeniyi, said the project costs about N19.6 billion, describing it as a frugal spend considering the top-notch materials used to build it and the latest technological furnishings and installations.
According to him, the idea of a headquarters building was conceived around 2002 when Alhaji Mustapha Aliyu was the Customs CG.
“Work started in 2007. We had the initial model on ground but as time went on, things were modified till we arrived at what we have today.
“It consists of three main wings. Two wings (A and B) and in between are bridges. We have a tower at the middle with 12 floors.
“We expect Buhari to commission it as he has graciously given us his consent.
“It’s a smart building with latest ICT offerings. We have a monitoring centre among other facilities to make our operations more seamless.
“Relocation will be in phases and after that, we shall determine what will happen to our Wuse zone 3 office”, he said.
Adeniyi said the initial challenges encountered in building the gigantic edifice was variations and adjustments in models.
“This brought additional cost and caused delays.
“But nonetheless, the CGC made it a priority to deliver it during his tenure and he waded through the storm to see it come to fruition. This place will accommodate all Customs officers working at the headquarters. Our population has increased as we brought new innovations into the Service”, he added.