Niger, Liquor board operating in dilapidated shambles office, ceilings blown off
BY: TUNDE BOLAJI, MINNA.
Niger state liquor licensing board, a revenue-generating agency, is operating in an office accommodation that is not befitting, as all ceilings in the office have fallen apart.
During a visit to the headquarters of the liquor board, it was discovered they have been operating in a dilapidated structure for decades.
All the ceilings and roofing sheets are separating from the building, making the office uncomfortable during rainfall.
According to findings, the liquor licensing board has been operating in an office whose structures are located along GbaGbakungu’Secretariatiat since the year 2000.
The report added that particularly the Director general’s office is an eye sore without functional modern air conditioning in the office, with colonial furniture as the office is supported with an old standing fan.
The reports added that the corridor linking to the office of both DG and secretary including the accounts department is nothing to write home about, , as ceilings and woods are falling apart, while the personal assistance PA’s office to the D G’s office can not contain few visitors, even as the office aids squat or keep standing.
Despite the ugly side of the entire building of the liquor board, the office of the secretary is very narrow and needs expansion as it can not contain sets of cushions, only two Colonial chairs with two plastic chairs for visitors.
The investigations also revealed that despite the ramshackle nature of the building, the board lacks the operational vehicles to enforce the law within the state capital and the 25 local government areas of the state.
The Director General of the board, Barr Yahaya Halidu, in his reaction, said, “The physical structure of the office will not deter us from doing our job. However, the board has written a memo to the farmer, Governor Umar Bago, to reconstruct or rehabilitate the structure.
Halidu, however, explained that the board, despite the shabby nature of the board, requires five operational vehicles, one each at zones A, B, and C, for effective monitoring of the 25 local governments, with two attached at the head office.
He was optimistic that the administration of Governor Bago would surely come to the aid of the liquor board in rehabilitating the board as he has embarked on the rehabilitation of some ministries and parastatals in the state.
