By Sabiu Abdullahi
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has warned that legal action may be taken against the contractor responsible for renovating the National Assembly complex over persistent technical faults in the chambers.
Akpabio issued the warning on Wednesday after senators experienced repeated disruptions during plenary because of malfunctioning microphones.
The recurring problems have persisted despite the renovation of the National Assembly complex, which reportedly cost billions of naira. Since lawmakers returned to the refurbished chambers in April 2024, they have continued to encounter poor audio quality, faulty microphones and a non-functional electronic voting system.
The technical challenges have forced both the Senate and the House of Representatives to rely on manual voting during deliberations on major constitutional amendment bills, including the proposal on state police.
Speaking during plenary, Akpabio recalled that he was embarrassed by the condition of the facilities during the opening of the 2026 National Assembly Open Week at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
“Distinguished colleagues, I hope you are taking note of the fact that our microphones are not working well, because we are going to take action,” Akpabio said.
“I was at the house of representatives yesterday to represent you on the opening of their National Assembly Week, and in the course of it, myself and the speaker were thoroughly embarrassed.
“The same contractor that handled the renovation of the house of representatives handled this one.
“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.”
The Senate President also disclosed that the leadership of the upper legislative chamber is documenting the repeated technical failures as part of preparations for possible action against the contractor.
“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 actions. We are all witnessing what is going on now,” he added.
