BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- The monument commemorating the journalist who hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush was taken down a day after it was erected , local officials in Tikrit told CNN . A monument to a shoe thrown at former President Bush is unveiled at the Tikrit Orphanage complex . Assisted by kids at the Tikrit Orphanage , sculptor Laith al-Amiri on Tuesday erected a huge brown replica of one of the shoes hurled at Bush last month by journalist Muntadhir al-Zaidi during a press conference in Baghdad . But officials from Salaheddin province told CNN that the monument was removed after a request from the central government , which has charges pending against al-Zaidi -- now in an Iraqi jail . After the request was made , Iraqi police visited the location to make sure that the shoe monument was removed . `` We will not allow anyone to use the government facilities and buildings for political motives , '' said Abdullah Jabara , Salaheddin deputy governor . Al-Zaidi 's angry gesture touched a defiant nerve throughout the Arab and Muslim world . He is regarded by many people as a hero , and demonstrators last month took to the streets in the Arab world and called for his release . The shoe monument , made of fiberglass and coated with copper , consists of the shoe and a concrete base . The entire monument is 3.5 meters ( 11.5 feet ) high . The shoe is 2.5 meters ( 8.2 feet ) long and 1.5 meters ( 4.9 feet ) wide . The orphans helped al-Amiri build the $ 5,000 structure in 15 days , said Faten Abdulqader al-Naseri , the orphanage director . `` Those orphans who helped the sculptor in building this monument were the victims of Bush 's war , '' al-Naseri said . `` The shoe monument is a gift to the next generation to remember the heroic action by the journalist . '' Saddam Hussein , the former Iraqi leader toppled by the United States in 2003 , was from the Tikrit region . Al-Zaidi marked his 30th birthday in jail earlier this month . One of his brothers told CNN he `` in good health and is being treated well . '' Al-Zaidi 's employer , TV network al-Baghdadia , keeps a picture of him at the top left side of the screen with a calendar showing the number of days he has spent in detention . The network has been calling for his release . By tradition , throwing a shoe , is the most insulting act in the Arab world . CNN 's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report .
Provincial governor says government facilities ca n't be used for politics . Huge sculpture of shoe thrown at former President Bush was at orphanage . Comment: