Minister of Defence, Mansur Muhammad Dan Ali on Tuesday, 19th December 2017 commissioned 15 state of the art blocks comprising of 270 flats constructed by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, to ameliorate the acute shortage of accommodation for the personnel of the military in Abuja.
The breakdown of the accommodation commissioned are114 Flats contained in 7 blocks at the Mogadishu Cantonment and the 156 flats contained at the Mambilla Barracks for soldiers.
Speaking before the commissioning, the CDS said, “Today we are all gathered here to witness the commissioning of the Muhammadu Buhari Officers Quarters located at the Mogadishu Cantonment, and the Soldiers Quarters in Mambilla Barracks.
“These projects we are about to commission are indeed very dear to my heart as it has been my foremost desire to reduce to the barest minimum, the huge accommodation deficit hitherto experienced in the Defence headquarters on my assumption of office.
“The over expanding responsibilities of the armed forces of Nigeria in the past 2 years or thereabout necessitated the creation of new directorates, departments and bureau, and the expansion of existing ones in the Defence headquarters to address specific needs.
“Some of these expanded and newly expanded and newly created establishments include Standard and Evaluation, Civil Military Cooperation, Campaign Planning, Research and Development Bureau, Defence Space Administration and the irectorate of Special Forces.
“This expansion has therefore led to increased manpower to cater for these departments. Expectedly the growth in manpower increased the already existing inadequacy in personnel accommodation.
“This inadvertently affected the output of personnel bearing in mind that decent shelter plays a vital role in the productivity of any workforce.
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“It is in a bid to address this challenge that we embarked on this long but worthwhile journey of constructing 156 flats of various types for soldiers in Mambilla Barracks and 114 one bedroom flats for officers in Mogadishu Cantonment.
Continuing the CDS said, Permit me to inform you that the Officer’s Quarters is what we like to refer to as ‘Smart Quarters’ due to its own unique features.
“These include the availability of free Wi-Fi Internet Access for occupants, cordless intercom system which can be configured to function with android phones, alternative source of power, close circuit television (CCTV) cameras for surveillance among other facilities.
“I wish to reiterate that this is the first of its kind in the Nigerian Armed Forces and underscores our commitment towards aligning with global best practices in addressing the welfare challenges of our personnel.
While expressing gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari who is the inspiration behind the projects due to his constant support, the CDS said, the minister of Defence has also deserves accolades for being an extra-ordinary pillar of support for the armed forces of Nigeria.
The newly commissioned officer’s quarters consist of 114 Flats of 7 blocks at the Mogadishu Cantonment and 8 blocks of 156 flats for soldiers at the Mambilla Barracks.
The flat for soldiers comprise 1-bedroom, 2-bedrooms and Self Contained Studio flats.
Special features and facilities contained in the accommodation include Solar Powered Street lights, Solar Powered Bore-holes for water supply, Fully Furnished rooms, ICT connected rooms with internet and free Wi-Fi facilities, 2 by 600 KWA generators (Sound Proof).
Dignitaries at the commissioning ceremony included the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Chairman Senator Committee on Defence, Representative of the Chairman House Committee on Defence and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Hajia Batagarawa.
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