The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has debunked claims that it sold buildings at the Lagos headquarters in Ikoyi.
message in circulation claims that a former Chairman/CEO of the agency supervised the sale leaving officers and men stranded.
A statement by the agency’s spokesperson Femi Babafemi on Wednesday described the claims as ” a total distortion of facts”.
According to him, the buildings referred to in the circulating piece, “which did not belong to it in the first place, served as its National Headquarters before its relocation to Abuja some years ago.
He explained further that a Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on Federal Government Landed Properties took over the buildings following a government directive.
Babafemi said all vacated or underutilised government properties were taken over by the PIC, sold and the proceeds paid to federal government coffers.
“At the time of relocation, 70% of the Agency’s headquarters staff moved to Abuja while the remaining 30% are still in Shaw road office, 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.
“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.
“Members of the public are therefore urged to disregard the anonymous write up, which is nothing but an embodiment of distortion and mischief.”
