In the face of incessant rain in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), workers and visitors to the National Assembly complex are bitterly complaining about leaky roofs, which cause discomfort whenever it rains.
The most affected part is the white building that houses the two permanent chambers and is currently undergoing renovations.
A cross-section of complex users speaking to the Nigerian Tribune described the roof leaks as a nationwide embarrassment. They called on the leadership of the National Assembly and the Federal Capital Development Agency (FCDA) to take urgent action to save the national monument from further deterioration.
Meanwhile, contractors in charge of refurbishing the National Assembly Complex, Visible Construction Limited, have reassured users of the complex that the leaks will be fixed soon.
The contractor’s assurance came Wednesday through project engineer Tajudeen Olanipekun in response to reports by some bloggers of rainwater leaks at the White House portion 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 30 billion naira to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) for a major renovation in fiscal year 2021.
Visible Construction, the contractor hiring the project, began work in April last year, providing temporary hallow chambers for both Senate and House lawmakers.
Regarding the recent reports of roof leaks at the complex, engineer Olanipekun said his company has the situation under control. He mentioned that specialty chemicals would soon be used on the affected expansion joints.
He went on to explain that all of the complex’s roofs, both in the White House and adjacent buildings, have been thoroughly inspected to identify expansion joints that require waterproofing chemicals to prevent any form of leakage.
The chemicals, he added, have already been imported from the United States but will be used after the rainy season this year.
“For us at Visible Construction, the report on roof leaks in the National Assembly is like writing a student’s script while still writing his exam. We are still carrying out renovation work on the entire facility.
It is only when we have completed the work that reports of roof leaks can be made, which would never happen to us as the problem would be a thing of the past if it were turned over to the FCDA who gave us the work.”
“There shouldn’t be any concern from either side about the project as we have FCDA engineers with us,” he said.
He also mentioned that containers have arrived from America with state-of-the-art furniture to be placed in both chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives, along with expatriates who will do the job.
In his opinion, this would make the two chambers among the best in the world.
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https://tribuneonlineng.com/why-national-assemblys-complex-roofing-still-leaking-project-engineer/
