By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari will today commission the new headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.
The building is located behind the headquarters of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Maitama district.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Bashir Adeniyi, deputy comptroller-general of customs (DCG), said the project conceived in 2002, cost N19.6 billion.
Adeniyi, chairman of the organising committee for the inauguration, said the approved plan for the edifice had undergone various redesigns.
“We expect the commissioning to be done by no less a person than the President of the federal republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR. He has kindly conveyed his approval to be with us,” the DCG said.
“We will be starting the commissioning at about 8:45am. We expect him at about that time and it will be held for just one hour.
“This was a project that was conceived several years ago. I will say during the time of Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed Mustapha as comptroller-general of customs and this was sometime in 2002, that was when we got the allocation of the place.
“Work started sometime in 2007 and of course the initial model that we had undergone redesign until we arrived at what we have today.
“What we are commissioning tomorrow is an edifice that consists of three main wings, the two wings and the bridges are on five floors. In addition, we have a tower in the middle that has 12 floors.”
