Staff, students on the run as roof leakage hits NOUN headquarters

Staff, students and visitors and the headquarters of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Abuja on Tuesday when the entire offices at the NOUN Media Centre were flooded due to leaking roof following heavy downpour, Daily Sun has reported.

The roof leakage led to temporary disruption of official and academic activities at the building as the workers and visitors had to scamper for safety to avoid being drenched by the heavy downpour.

The NOUN Media Centre is the Federal Government NEEDS Assessment Intervention Project that was completed and put into use few years ago. It houses the media department and several other related offices of NOUN.

The rain which started around 1pm lasted for close to an hour. But throughout the duration of the rain, workers armed themselves with bucket and other containers with which they used to control the flooded floor.

They were forced out of the offices with their valuable items including computer systems and other devices to avoid being destroyed by the flood.

The workers were left with no option but to join the already overwhelmed cleaners in scooping the water from the flooded floor to avoid further damages.

Some staff of the school whose offices were badly affected by the development blamed the works and maintenance department of the school for failing to take action on the matter after the matter had been reported to them several times.

A staff who pleaded anonymity said they have written to the school management formally and otherwise complaining about the ugly development but nothing has been done yet.

The staff said: “This roof leakage started shortly after inverter was installed in the building. It seems the people that installed the inverter stepped on the roof and caused several holes on it, and that was when this ugly incident started.

“For close to three years now, we have been facing this challenge but it became worst lately to the point that we have to leave our offices for safer place whenever it’s cloudy.

“In some cases when it rains at night when workers are absent, documents, computer equipments and other office facilities are destroyed.”