As the contractors handling the renovation of the National Assembly Complex begin work, federal lawmakers in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, (HoR), will have to vacate their chambers and relocate elsewhere temporarily for their plenary sessions.
With this development, senators will hold plenary sessions inside Committee Room 022, located on the ground floor of the new Senate building.
Lawmakers in the House will make use of the spacious committee rooms on the ground floor.
Members of the House of Representatives are also expected to utilize the halls on the first and second floors of the House of Representatives’ new building.
There are plans to link lawmakers who may not be able to find seats in the Committee Room on the ground floor with the use of teleconferencing technology.
The contractor handling the renovation project on Wednesday officially took over the complex.
The job is expected to be completed in the next 16 months.
In his remarks at the official handing over ceremony of the complex to the contractor, the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, (FCDA), Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, represented by the Acting Director of Public Buildings, Architect Adebowale Adeyemo, gave a breakdown of the scope of work to be carried out during the renovation.
He said the renovation will be conducted in both chambers, the buildings housing the offices of lawmakers, as well as the roof of the entire White House.
Others are cooling systems in the chambers and committee meeting rooms.
“The scope of what is to be done in this phase one of the works entails making the roof watertight.
There have been several inconveniences of roof leakages experienced in the past, and one of the major areas of attention is to redress the roof leakages and make the entire roof of the White House watertight.
Next is the cooling system.
Some of the committee rooms and central lobbies have faced challenges with temperature regulation because some of the chillers are out of service.
The last few days have been very hot for lawmakers in the Senate at plenary, forcing presiding officers to hurriedly adjourn.
Repairs are also expected to be done on the lifts, as well as the toilet water systems.
The plumbing and other equipment fittings that have worn out will also be properly fixed.
“We also have as part of the scope, the replacement of lifts that are inoperable in the White House, as well as in the House of Representatives, and the new Senate Wing.
“Beyond that also, work will be done in the toilet areas, to make sure the plumbing and the equipment and fittings are in proper condition.
In addition, work will be done to address the challenges of the extra-low voltage equipment, the public address system and the fire safety installations.
“These works will entail rehabilitation and upgrading, to make them state-of-the-art, and ready for use, looking at today’s technology.
“Most critical of all, in terms of what needs to be done, is the reconfiguration and the upgrading of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
“This reconfiguration works involve extending the sitting terraces to provide more comfortable sitting, and also provide a worktop, where the legislators can sit and work in a very comfortable manner.
“Beyond that also, the entire ambience of the space is going to be transformed, and we are hopeful that at the end of the works, we will have a new and very efficient working environment for our Distinguished Senators, as well as the respected Honourable members of the House of Representatives.
“In a nutshell, this covers the essential scope of what needs to be done, and what is going to be done during this renovation works.
“As I said earlier, it is a major intervention. It is comprehensive and the intention is to restore this building to its original status, and also to upgrade it so that the facilities and equipment therein, will match any in any parliament in the world.”
On his part, the Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, Architect Ojo Olatunde Amos, who was represented by the Secretary of Estate and Works, Engineer Bashir Yero, said the National Assembly Complex will remain a place to be, in terms of legislators’ comfort, after the renovation.
The CNA said the renovation of the National Assembly was long overdue, as the new face of the complex when completed, will give a physiological boost to lawmakers, staff and visitors, including Parliamentary Reporters.
Yero said: “We believe by the time this project is completed, the National Assembly will certainly be a place to be, in terms, and our legislators will be more than happy to have an enhanced environment, especially the chambers.
“What we have in the chambers has not been too good for legislative comfort. You see the legislators having to go out once in a while, and then they have to disturb a lot of their colleagues, along with that roll.
But with what we have now in the review, that will not happen again. The seats will not only be comfortable for them, there is going to be a connection to the internet.
“Eventually, it is going to be a mini-work station, so that while they are seated in the chamber, they will be virtually connected to the entire world, and by this, we can match any parliament in the world.”
The Managing Director of the firm handling the renovation, Messrs Visible Construction Company, Nigeria Limited, Olalekan Adebiyi, said the work would be done speedily.
“We are ready to move with good speed. We are ready to work day and night because we know the challenges ahead.
“Everything we have to do, talking about the chambers, we have to do fast, because the legislators have to vacate the main chambers to a temporary place for us to work.
“So we know what it is, and we are ready to face the challenge, and do whatever we have to do very fast so that we can deliver in a good time. So we are ready.”
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
