NASS Roof Leakages: Construction Coy Debunks Media Reports

BY PATRICK WEMAMBU

The Construction Company handling renovation works on roofs and other structural facilities within the National Assembly complex since 2022 has debunked reports making the rounds in certain parts of the media that the roofs of the parliamentary chambers are leaking.

Speaking through the Managing Director of one of its subsidiaries, Mr. Olalekan Adebiyi, the company described the said reports as false and malicious – insisting that investigations carried out by them revealed that there was no leakage.

The MD made the remarks in a telephone conversation with journalists covering the National Assembly hours after the publication went public.

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According to him, Amothene, imported from the United States of America (USA) and applied to the points of leakages on the roof, is water tight and can never leak.

Adeniyi explained; “The report to us, is unfounded and simply put, bad belle because if it was Julius Berger that carried out the renovation work, no such fake report, will be written against it.

“I wonder why some Nigerians always like to be enemies of their fellow country men for no good reason whatsoever.

“We checked and found out that it was an ingress of water that came through the Smaller windows at the upper part of the Chamber Building that flooded the floor and not roof leakage.

“The said story or report, has no single picture of points of leakages from the roof which to us, is very unprofessional and unethical.

“The report is fake as there was no leakage from any point on the roof. We did a good job and stand by it and shall surely be vindicated as more and more rains will still fall in the coming weeks and months.”

The Sunday Times recalls that an Online platform had in the early hours of Saturday, reported that the heavy rain that fell on Friday, had made mince meat of renovation works carried out by the Construction Company in question on roofs and other structural facilities of the National Assembly Complex.

The downpour was alleged to have overwhelmed the roofs of the National Assembly, causing the compromised structures to leak in several points.

The report claimed that the heavy leakages have exposed the shoddy supervisory job by the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, in the renovation project of the National Assembly.

Records have it that FCDA had from the inception in 1998/1999, contracted the construction of the building and the maintenance for the first ten years to the construction giant, Julius Berger.

However, the bill given by the company for the job under review was said to be so huge, leading to the award of the renovation subsequently to a local construction company for a staggering sum of N38 billion.

The quality of the work done allegedly came under test, Friday, April 25, 2025, when the downpour hit the FCT and exposed the compromised roof of the NASS – the Online media reports asserted.

Areas like the lobby towards the back entrance of the White House leading to the House of Representatives and the pathway from the Senate wing leading to the front entrance were alleged to have been flooded due to the downpour.

Even some staff members of the cleaning company in charge of maintenance of the White House reportedly were seen scooping water from the leaking rooftop of the lobby.

Contract to renovate the NASS Complex, two years ago, generated public debate with the renovation put at a princely N38 billion which sparked controversy.