NOA DG decries poor maintenance culture in public service

THE Director General of National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari, has called on Nigerians and public servants to maintain government assets and properties the way they maintain their personal property.

Dr Abari, spoke in Abuja at a one-day Public Forum on Change Begins With Me: Need for a Maintenance Culture”.

He said it was unfortunate that laws in the public service had not been strictly adhered to, saying some public servants had escaped justice after showing high level of negligence to government properties.

According to him, the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign should encompass the individual and public life of every Nigerian.

“The Change Begins With  Me campaign is suppose to be a marathon because it is supposed to cover each and every aspect of our individual and public life,” Abari said.

He said: “If you were here when we came in, you would see so many abandoned vehicles, and if you asked what was the problem, they would say there were no tyres. The vehicle would spend over one year in parking in the open, then gradually, something which would have cost N100,000 to fix eventually will cost up to N2 million or even total loss of the entire vehicle. Some offices have air conditioners that are not working, if you ask them, they will say no gas”.

Abari, therefore, said public property is a collective property and must be maintained very well by all or whoever is in position to do so.

“If we can maintain our own personal property in order to avoid degeneration and save cost, there is no reason why we cannot take care of public property and maintain it properly.

“Those of us that have been charged with the responsibility of taking care of public property, have also been asked to take public trust, and such property must actually be handled as public trust.

“But because the laws has not been adhered to, people who have abused public trust have been allowed to go,” he regretted.