Lawmakers have allocated an extra N30bn for renovating the National Assembly Complex, as revealed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill.
Quest Times reports that this brings the total budget for the National Assembly to N344.85bn, the highest ever assigned to the legislature and signed by President Bola Tinubu on January 1.
The N30bn supplement brings the renovation cost to N60bn, as Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, also the National Assembly President, announced in June 2023 that President Tinubu would inaugurate the ongoing projects in December 2023.
Despite initial completion dates of August 2022, January 2023, and then December 2023, as of January 2024, the renovation remains unfinished, with Visible Construction Company still on-site.
Moreover, a company official attributed delays to funding issues, stating, “If money is released to our company, the project will be done in no time.”
The site engineer, Tajudeen Olanipekun, equally cited currency fluctuations affecting material imports and the need for additional funds during a Senate Committee oversight visit.
Richard Nduul of the Federal Capital Development Agency disclosed a payment of N19bn, emphasizing that the project, when completed, would elevate the Complex to a world-class parliamentary building.
However, attempts to obtain an expenditure update from Nduul and the site engineer were unsuccessful.