Claims making the round that a certain former Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) sold the Agency’s headquarters office buildings in Ikoyi, Lagos, has been debunked by the Agency.
According to the story currently going round on WhatsApp platforms, officers and men of the NDLEA are stranded without offices to carry out their usual duties.
Responding to the claims, the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday said the story was false.
Babafemi stated that the buildings in questions do not belong to the Agency, saying they only served as NDLEA temporary National Headquarters before its relocation to Abuja years ago.
“It should be noted that a Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on Federal Government Landed Properties took over the buildings following a government directive that all vacated or under-utilised government properties be taken over by the PIC, sold and proceeds paid to federal government coffers,” Babafemi stated.
According to him, 70% of staffers of the Agency at the said office moved to Abuja leaving only 30% who are in Shawn road office of the Agency in Ikoyi.
“This remaining 30% will soon join the main headquarters in Abuja as soon as the new HQ building, recently bought by the federal government for the Agency is ready for occupation,” he added.
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Babafemi said NDLEA has no hand in the sales of the properties and also unaware of the buyer(s).
“Like other federal government agencies whose properties were taken over by the PIC, NDLEA has no hand in the sale of the mentioned properties and does not know who bought them and for how much, as the presidential committee solely handled the sale.
“The challenge before the Agency at the moment is how to remove our officers and men who live within communities where they are exposed to dangers into secure barracks accommodation, a concern already being addressed by the federal government through budgetary provisions for the construction of such barracks across the country beginning from this year,” Babafemi stated.
He urged members of the public to disregard the “anonymous write up”, which he said is an embodiment of distortion and mischief.
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