Senate, House Of Reps Relocate To Main Chambers In April

The Senate and the House of Representatives are set to relocate to their main hallowed chambers next month after holding plenaries in makeshift halls for two years.

Naija News reports that the project engineer of Visible Construction Company, Tajudeen Olanipekun, made this known in a chat with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.

Olnaipekun asserted that the finishing stages of work are speedily being carried out with the required expertise and precision.

He assured that the renovation work would be completed next month and delivered to the National Assembly management for lawmakers to move in.

The National Assembly main complex had been left without renovation for years. The complex, which is a White House houses the two hallowed chambers.

Recall that the National Assembly has increased its budget allocation for the renovation of its complex by an additional N30 billion in the 2024 Appropriation Bill.

This increment brings the total expenditure for the renovation to a staggering N60 billion.

Originally, the National Assembly’s budget for 2024 was set at N197.93 billion.

However, President Bola Tinubu signed into law a bill raising this figure significantly to N344.85 billion on January 1.

This budget is the largest ever allocated to the Nigerian legislature, marking a new high in legislative spending.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio had earlier announced that President Tinubu was expected to inaugurate N30 billion worth of different ongoing projects at the National Assembly in December 2023.

Akpabio described the complex as a “construction site” due to the extensive renovation work and fresh projects.

Originally scheduled for completion in August 2022, the renovation has faced multiple delays.

The delivery date was first moved to January 2023 and then again to December 2023. As of January 2024, the renovation is still underway, with only partial progress visible on the premises.