PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has signed Executive Order 11 into law thereby mandating the federal government to institutionalise the maintenance of public buildings.
Signing the new law just before the commencement of the weekly virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, the President directed all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government to set up maintenance departments in line with the provisions of the new Executive Order.
According to the president, maintenance of public facilities has gone beyond just a culture to an economy that provides employment for a good number of Nigerians. The order, he said, now gives legal backing to the country’s national maintenance policy, following its earlier approval by FEC.
Buhari added that the government had already started utilising the policy to give a facelift to some of its buildings like the Federal Secretariat, Abuja and 24 others spread across the country.
“Since the approval of the policy by the Federal Executive Council, the federal government has consciously started the implementation of maintenance of strategic facilities like the federal secretariat Abuja and federal secretariats in 24 states of the federation, where at least 40 people are now daily employed in each of those 24 secretariats.
“The office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation has approved the establishment of a department of federal public assets maintenance as a vital step in support of the implementation of this national policy, which is unprecedented in our history and approach to maintenance.
“In order to ensure the fullest implementation and impact of the policy, it is my pleasure to sign this Executive Order that ties maintenance direct to our economy.
“By this Order, I expect Ministries, Departments and Agencies to set out and ensure the operation of their maintenance departments and make necessary procurements for their maintenance in accordance with the provisions of the public procurement act,” the president said.
