Senate, HOR Chambers ready next month – Contractor

By Tunde Opalana

Federal lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly will relocate back to their main hallowed chambers next month.

The contractor handling the renovation of the chambers, Messers Visible Construction Company Nigeria Limited gave the assurance on Sunday.

This assurance was coming about one and half years of holding plenaries at the temporary chambers within the new buildings of both the Senate and House of Representatives wings of the National Assembly.

According to the contractors, works are at near completion stages as the upgraded and reconfigured hallowed chambers are presently fitted with the State – of – art chairs for the federal lawmakers and sitting terraces extended.

The Project Engineer of the Construction firm, Tajudeen Olanipekun informed newsmen covering the Senate last week that the finishing stages are speedily being carried out with required expertise and precision for practical transformation of the entire ambience of the space in and around the Hallowed Chambers towards project delivey next month .

Olanipekun’s assurance on delivery of the fully transformed and reconfigured hallowed chambers to management of the National Assembly, coincided with the call by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, to the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Sani Magaji Tambawal that both the Senate and the House of Representatives , want to move to their main chambers as soon as possible .

Akpabio’s marching order to the CNA on delivery of the main Hallowed Chambers to both the Senate and the House of Representatives was given on Tuesday last week, during his interactive session with journalists covering the Senate which was attended by the CNA and other top management staff of the National Assembly.

“Please impress it on the contractor handling the project to be more proactive on renovation work at both Chambers as the temporary chambers being used since 2022, are not befitting for hosting of visitors from outside the country”, he said.

For on the spot assessment of the projects, some of the journalists covering the Senate made fact finding visitations to both Chambers under renovation on Friday last week, where they saw a fully transformed, upgraded and reconfigured hallowed chambers, measuring up to global standards.

The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in March 2021 awarded a N30 billion renovation contract to Visible Construction Limited to rehabilitate critical segments of the National Assembly complex, which is almost completed now.

Some of the critical segments are the office buildings housing the office accommodation for the Senators and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives, watertight roof of the complex, the cooling system,
replacement of lifts that are inoperable in the White House, the House of Representatives and in the new Senate Wing.