Senate President Godswill Akpabio has threatened to take legal action against the contractor responsible for renovating the National Assembly complex following repeated technical failures affecting the microphones in both the Senate and House of Representatives chambers.
Akpabio voiced his frustration during Wednesday’s plenary after several senators struggled with malfunctioning microphones while making contributions to debates. He described the persistent technical issues as an embarrassment to the National Assembly and the country.
Addressing lawmakers, the Senate President said the recurring faults had become impossible to ignore and warned that decisive action would be taken if the problems persisted.
“Distinguished colleagues, I hope you are taking note of the fact that our microphones are not working well. You are taking note of it because I intend to take action,” Akpabio said.
He recalled facing a similar situation a day earlier while representing the Senate at the opening of the National Assembly Week in the House of Representatives. According to him, the same contractor handled the renovation of both legislative chambers, raising concerns about the quality of the work carried out.
“I was in the House of Representatives yesterday to represent you at the opening of the National Assembly Week and, in the course of it, the Speaker and I were thoroughly embarrassed. The same contractor that handled the renovation of the House of Representatives handled this one,” he said.
Akpabio warned that the National Assembly would explore all legal options available if the contractor failed to correct the defects. He stressed that public funds must deliver quality infrastructure and that the legislature would not tolerate substandard work.
“If this continues, we have steps we can take legally to ensure that a good job is done because this is an embarrassment to our nation,” he stated.
The Senate President also urged lawmakers to pay close attention to the recurring failures, noting that any future legal action would be based on the repeated technical issues witnessed during plenary sessions.
“I hope you are taking note of it so that when they go to social media to start complaining after we have taken action, you will know why we took the action. You are all witnessing what is going on now,” Akpabio added.
