By OLAJIDE IDOWU/JOSHUA OLADIPO

Some federal civil servants in Osun have decried the delay in the completion of the federal secretariat in the state, 14 years after it was awarded.

The federal workers, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Osogbo, lamented that the project, awarded in 2011, is still under construction.

NAN reports that the secretariat, located at Oke-Bale area along Ibokun Road in Osogbo, was expected to be completed in 2014.

The workers appealed to the Federal Government to investigate the cause of the delay and take appropriate steps to ensure its timely completion.

A staff member in one of the federal ministries in the state, Simeon Olanrewaju, said the non-completion of the project 14 years after it was awarded called for concerns.

Olanrewaju added that no matter what might have caused the delay, 14 years was too long for the completion of the secretariat.

“If care is not taken, with the way the project is dragging, it might be abandoned,” he said.

He appealed to President Bola Tinubu to ensure the project’s completion under his Renewed Hope Agenda.

Another civil servant, Mrs Mary Richards, described the project as seemingly unending.

Richards said that due to the non-completion of the secretariat, Federal Government offices were scattered, with many occupying unbefitting rented apartments.

“All the offices of the Federal Government in the state are scattered around.

“Only a few have their own buildings, majority are in rented apartments, which are not befitting of Federal Government offices,” she said.

Richards urged the Federal Government to urgently look into what is causing the delay and ensure the project’s completion.

Also, Mr Mayowa Olabisi, a federal civil servant, noted that if the state government could have a secretariat, there was no reason the Federal Government could not have one in Osun.

According to him, constructing a three-story building for 14 years is unimaginable.

“The Federal Government need to invite the contractor in charge of the project to explain why it has dragged on for 14 years.

“A project awarded in 2011, and still under construction in this current economic situation—how will it be completed,” he noted.

Olabisi appealed to the President to graciously ensure the project’s completion by his administration.

Mr Abass Ogunlana, a private building consultant, suggested that poor handling and monitoring might be the major reasons for the delayed in the project.

Ogunlana said it was sad that despite billions of naira spent on the project, it remained unfinished.

Similarly, a building engineer, Lukman Ayanfe, said engineers handling the project should explain the cause of the delay.

Ayanfe noted that the delay was not good for the image of the Federal Government and the well-being of federal workers in the state.

When contacted by NAN, Mr Sebastian Abang, the Chief Resident Architect of the Federal Ministry of Housing in the state, disclosed that the secretariat is about 80 per cent completion.

Abang attributed the slow pace of work at the secretariat to funds released by the Federal Government.

“The construction is subject to budgeting and release of funds.

“I cannot say when the secretariat will be completed because there is a limit to what those in the field office can do, as we are just a branch of the ministry.

“Every decision rests with Abuja,” he said. (NAN)