Activities in major parts of the Federal Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been crippled by a one-week power outage.
The development has rendered most of the civil servants dormant in their offices.
A visit to the secretariat revealed that some sections of all the blocks were without power supply, while others that could not stay completely blackout were using generators and solar power supply.
A senior official in Block C of the complex, told our correspondent there has been an outage in the secretariat since last week Thursday, without anybody saying anything about it.
He said, “We have not been able to do anything in our offices since last Thursday when the power was cut off from the secretariat. We thought it was something that would be restored soonest, but today makes it a week. Nobody is talking about the cause of the power outage,“ he said.
However, in some parts of Block A and C which host the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, there was electricity supply, while other sections of the blocks did not have electricity supply.
Another civil servant in the maintenance department who preferred anonymity confirmed that the entire blocks in the secretariat have been on total blackout, except some parts of Block A and C which host the Office of the Head of Civil Service.
“The issue of electricity has always been a challenge in the secretariat, there was a time we experienced it before, because of accumulated electricity bills, and it was restored after certain actions were taken. I believe that it is the same thing that has happened again.
“Even in Block A, there has been no light, but some people are using generators. Some officers also have an inverter and solar power system. So, if there is light in some parts of Block A and C, I can assume that they are using a solar system.
“The truth is that this kind of thing should not be allowed to continue in a place like this. It is very wrong to render activities in a whole federal government secretariat inactive because of electricity failure for almost a week now,“ he said
Meanwhile, Many Nigerians are curious as to why the government has not yet implemented the recommendations of the Oronsaye Report.
There are rumours of political manoeuvring and lobbying by some powerful individuals who stand to lose from the proposed merger of ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs).
Others speculate that the government may face logistical and financial challenges in the mergers. However, the delay is causing anxiety among civil servants and citizens alike, who are eager to see a leaner and more efficient government.
They say the government must provide clear and transparent communication on the progress of the mergers and address any concerns or obstacles hindering the implementation.
Recall that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the merging, scrapping, and subsuming of some MDAs in February this year in line with its policy of reducing the cost of governance.
The president’s special adviser on policy coordination, Hajiya Hadiza Bala-Usman, said the decision was based on the Steve Oronsaye Report on Civil Service Reforms inaugurated under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2014.
According to the report, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria will be merged with the Voice of Nigeria, while the National Commission for Museum and Monuments will be merged with the National Gallery of Acts.
The National Theatre will merge with the National Troupe of Nigeria, while the National Meteorological Development Centre will merge with the National Meteorological Training Institute.
National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) is to be merged with the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health, while National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is to be merged with the National Commission for Refugee Migration and Internally Displaced Persons.
The Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa will be merged with the Directorate of Technical Aid to function as a department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission is to be merged with the Bureau for Public Enterprises. The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission will merge with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, while the National Agency for Science and Technology and Science and Engineering Infrastructure will merge with the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and the Project Development Institute.
The special adviser further revealed that the National Biotechnology Development Agency will be merged with the National Centre for Genetic Resource and Biotechnology, while the National Institute for Leather Science Technology will be merged with the National Institute for Chemical Technology.