It was another story in Nigeria on 6th April 2022 as President Muhammadu Buhari graciously signed Executive Order 11 on the ‘Maintenance of National Public Buildings’.
The President, who assented to the epochal document on Wednesday morning in Aso Rock Villa prior to the commencement of the usual weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that held at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja, informed that the Executive Order 11 was targeted to address some existing uncalled norms within the shores of the Nigerian public service.
Speaking shortly before signing the Order, the Nigerian number one citizen directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government (MDAs) to set up maintenance departments in line with the provisions of the new Executive Order.
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He stated that the Order now gives legal backing to the country’s national maintenance policy, following its earlier approval by the FEC. According to the President, the government had already started utilising the policy to give a face-lift to some of its buildings like the federal secretariat, Abuja, and 24 others spread across the country.
He said, “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 directly 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,” he landed.
It was indeed a great and commendable move as made by the Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria under the watch of President Buhari, knowing full-well that maintenance culture has been a thing of tremendous concern across the lengths and breadth of the Nigerian State.
It’s not anymore news to any citizen of Nigeria that the prime reason most of the infrastructural edifices within the shores of the country are currently moribund is simply owing to lack of maintenance culture by the government officials.
This is the reason the private sector remains the only part that grows or improves in Nigeria as the years unfold to the detriment of the public sector and at the expense of the poor citizenry, thereby greatly affecting areas such as education, health and manufacturing.
Hence, the Executive Order 11 signed by the President could be a way forward and an avenue of liberating Nigeria’s public sector that has obviously suffered from an age-long disease, curable though. It could be a way of freeing Nigeria’s public sector from the life imprisonment it was sentenced many years ago by the country’s political leaders.
The Order could be a way of putting a full stop to the said sector that has apparently been neglected and abandoned by those meant to protect and adore it.
However, the FG must understand some pertinent facts if truly it is ready and prepared to ensure the success-story of the newly introduced Executive Order.
Aside from its assent by the President, the Presidency needs to take into cognizance that the move doesn’t just stop at signing the Order, hence some stringent actions ought to be followed towards ensuring a holistic implementation.
Overtime, Nigeria has been reckoned to be a country that’s good in bringing up a sound and laudable policy, but the major plight remains its apt implementation. This is exactly where the problem lies.