Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
The Kwara Secretariat building of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) is on the brink of collapse.
Chairman of the Council, Umar AbdulwHab and his Secretary, Tayo Ayanda, who cried out in a statement, in Ilorin, said the building had all along been showing bad signs since it was handed over to the Union in 2013.
The building was built and given to the NUJ by former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to compensate for the secretariat of the Union which Dr. Bukola Saraki, Ahmed’s predecessor in office demolished to build a banquet hall.
It had since been suffering structural defects which Abdulwahab and Ayanda feared might not survive this raining season.
The NUJ Chairman and Secretary said Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had, on January 21, 2020, paid an unscheduled visit to the secretariat to assess the extent of the damage.
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“His visit was followed by series of inspections by officials of the State Ministry of Works, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and experts from private firms to assess the level of structural defects following which recommendations were made,” they said.
The secretariat, situated along Offa Road, Ilorin, houses office accommodation for journalists, conference hall, chalets, and a conference hall.
The NUJ officials added that of late, erosion had caused serious damages to interlock settings in the premises of the Secretariat thereby posing serious treats to the structures.
They expressed concerns that if something urgent was not done to carry out comprehensive renovation, the structure might at the end caved.