With the incessant rain in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), workers and visitors to the National Assembly complex have been bitterly complaining about roof leaks, which make everyone uncomfortable whenever it rains.
The most affected part is the white building where the two permanent chambers are located and where renovations are currently taking place.
A cross-section of complex users who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune described the roof leaks as a national embarrassment. They called on the management of the National Assembly and the Federal Capital Development Agency (FCDA) to take urgent action to preserve the national monument from further deterioration.
Meanwhile, the construction firm responsible for renovating the National Assembly Complex, Visible Construction Limited, has assured users of the complex that the leaking points will be addressed soon.
The assurance from the construction firm came on Wednesday through the Project Engineer, Tajudeen Olanipekun, in response to reports by some bloggers about rainwater leaks in the White House segment of the complex on Tuesday this week and Thursday last week.
Due to the deterioration of the complex over the years, the 9th National Assembly allocated N30 billion to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in the 2021 fiscal year for a comprehensive renovation.
Visible Construction, the contractor awarded the project, began work in April last year and provided temporary Hallow Chambers for both the Senate and the House of Representatives lawmakers.
Regarding the recent roof leakage reports at the complex, Engineer Olanipekun stated that his firm was on top of the situation. He mentioned that specialized chemicals for the affected expansion joints would soon be applied.
He further explained that all the roofs of the complex, both in the White House and adjoining structures, have been thoroughly inspected to identify expansion joints requiring waterproof chemicals to prevent any form of leakage.
The chemicals, he added, have already been imported from the United States of America but will be applied after the rainy season this year.
“The report on roof leakage in the National Assembly to us at Visible Construction is like marking the script of a student still writing his or her examination. Renovation work on the entire complex is still being carried out by us.
It is only when we have finished the work that reports on roof leakage can be written, which, to us, would never happen as the problem would be a thing of the past by the time it is handed over to the FCDA, who gave us the job.”
“There should be no cause for alarm from any quarters regarding the project since engineers from the FCDA are also with us,” he said.
He also mentioned that containers of state-of-the-art furniture to be installed in both Chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives have arrived from America along with expatriates who will handle the job.
This, according to him, will make the two Chambers among the best in the world.
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