President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to flag off the construction of the new headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.
Our correspondents report that the flag-off of the new headquarters, located in Maitama, is contained in the activities lined up by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to mark President Tinubu’s second year in office, and it is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Top sources at the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) said the project would be executed by the FCTA.
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One of the sources said although details of the project remained sketchy, it will cost billions of naira.
On why the FCTA is building the headquarters of the commission, which is supposed to be a neutral body, a top source at the FCDA said the administration had been involved in building, and in some instances, maintaining federal government offices in Abuja, including the Presidential Villa.
The source added that the National Assembly and many agencies and some ministries were built by the FCTA.
“But because INEC is a sensitive body, I know that people, especially politicians, will raise some concerns. However, I am not sure the aim is to influence the electoral body,” the source said.
On whether the project is captured in FCTA’s 2025 budget, a director who asked for anonymity noted that although the budget had been approved by the National Assembly, it is still before the president for assent.
The source said the details of the budget were yet to be made available.
It would be recalled that the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, recently came under attack for building quarters for the judges at the Mabushi area of Abuja.
Critics of the minister said he built the quarters to get favour from the judiciary, an allegation he denied.
Reacting, the Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communication and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, confirmed that the construction of the INEC headquarters is an FCT Administration’s project.
He said all federal public buildings in the nation’s capital belong to the FCTA, including the National Assembly.
On the cost of the project, the Minister’s aide asked our reporter to wait for the scheduled flag off date.
Lawyers differ
Meanwhile, some lawyers have expressed divergent views on the planned reconstruction of the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
In his reaction, Obioma Ezenwobodo said that despite the constitutional provision that INEC was independent, it had remained part of the executive arm of government.
“INEC is still an executive body and there is nothing wrong for an executive body to build a house for the INEC to carry out its job,” he said.
However, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh said such project was unnecessary and a waste of public resources.
“I do not see any necessity for the FCTA to do that for INEC. The administration may indeed spend its resources as it pleases in its budget, but such spending should be with accountability and a good conscience,” he said.
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