Dikko Abdullahi, comptroller general, bows out of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in style as he performed his last official function by inaugurating a three-storey state-of-the-art hospital facility on Tuesday. It is one of the lasting legacies he left behind in Customs where he worked for 27 years.
Abdullahi bowed out of service after six years in the saddle as comptroller general of NCS, leaving a legacy for the people of Karu, a densely populated, but largely underdeveloped part of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
As a fitting climax to his 27-year career at the Customs, he unveiled a three-story imposing hospital build by the NCS to improve the welfare of its staff and Nigerians living around the area on Tuesday, August 18.
Nanman Nandap, medical director of the NCS hospital, Karu, described the hospital as a comprehensive medical facility equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and a well-trained staff. He listed some of the features of the hospital as modern radio-diagnostic and ultrasound equipment; three modular theatres and an intensive care unit with a central gas supply system. It also has executive wards and a mortuary.
Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna State governor, lauded the management skill of Abdullahi, especially his commitment to the welfare of staff. He expressed mixed feelings on his retirement and described him as “a fine public servant.”
The out-going Custom’s boss described the new edifice as a consolidation of his welfare programme through the delivery of quality health care services to officers and their families.
“This complex will not only cater for the need of Customs officers and their families. The entire Karu community will benefit from its services and reach. From the level of sophistication of our equipment and the quality of our personnel, this facility will also serve as a reference hospital for the entire FCT community,” Abdullahi said.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had accepted Abdullahi’s voluntary resignation as comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service with effect from Tuesday, August 18.
