The Ad Hoc Committee on Rivers State Administration has said the state’s secretariat complex in Port Harcourt has become as dilapidated as facilities in the war-torn Gaza in Palestine.

The committee called for an immediate renovation of the complex and relocation of civil servants from the terrible environment.

The directive followed an emergency inspection tour, led by the Committee Chairman, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, who assessed the secretariat and the stalled Rivers State House of Assembly project.

Ihonvbere decried the building’s structural hazards, weak floor tiles, leaking roofs, and exposed electrical wiring.

The chairman also decried the absence of basic amenities, non-functional toilets, poor drinking water, or furniture, and life-threatening environments, particularly on the sixth and seventh floors declared “unfit for human occupation”.

He ordered immediate closure of bad floors, emergency relocation of the staff to alternative secured office spaces, a comprehensive renovation of the entire secretariat complex, and a contractor review meeting for the delayed Assembly complex project.

Ihonvbere condemned the infrastructural failures and praised civil servants for maintaining operations under what he called “unconscionable conditions,” particularly those working on the dangerous upper floors.

A statement by the Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Rivers State Government, Hector Igbikiowubo, said the inspection revealed that the House of Assembly contractor would miss the September completion deadline.

Ihonvbere announced an emergency meeting with contractors to strictly review project timelines and quality standards as well as possible sanctions for underperformance.

He said: “The current state constitutes gross workplace endangerment…”

“We demand immediate alternative accommodations for displaced workers; a transparent bidding process for renovation contracts; and weekly progress reports to our committee.” (The Nation)