We Give You One Month – Akpabio Threatens Action Over Frequent Audio Breakdown In Senate’s Chamber

The Nigerian Senate has given a one-month ultimatum to the contractor handling the renovation of its chambers.

The lawmakers gave the contractors one month to rectify the frequent breakdown of the audio communication installed in the building or face its wrath.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio issued the deadline during plenary on Tuesday.

He was visibly angry after his microphone malfunctioned during proceedings and told the Chairman, Senate Services, Sen. Karimi Sunday, to immediately liaise with the contractor and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA), to ensure that the job was completed to the standards suitable to the status of Nigeria, as one of the largest parliaments in Africa.

“We give between now and one month to have a system suitable for this chamber installed or we make further decisions,” he said.

The renovations include the installation of facilities to enable real-time interpretation of proceedings in multiple languages, aligning with practices in other legislative bodies worldwide.

He emphasised that failure to meet the deadline would prompt the Senate to take decisive action.

Meanwhile, Akpabio, has confirmed that the budget defence report for the ₦54.2 trillion 2025 budget will be presented to the Senate during plenary this week.

Naijaonpoint reports that Akpabio disclosed that the Committee on Appropriations will present the report either on Wednesday or Thursday, emphasizing the urgency of concluding the debate on the 2025 budget.

“You will observe that some of our colleagues are not in the chamber because of the required final touches on the 2025 Appropriation Bill report, which will be laid before us tomorrow, Wednesday, or Thursday this week,” Akpabio stated during plenary on Tuesday.

“We need to close early to allow for collective efforts in that direction for final consideration and passage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill,” he added.

Earlier in the session, the Senate passed five bills for first reading. These include:

– The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) Alteration Bill 2025

– The Armed Forces Act Amendment Bill 2025

– The Federal Medical Centres Act Amendment Bill 2025, among others.

Additionally, the Senate passed for second reading a bill to amend the Federal University of Agriculture Act, aiming to establish the Federal University of Agriculture in Abak, Akwa Ibom State.

Following the second reading, the bill was referred to the Committee on Agriculture for further legislative scrutiny. The committee is expected to report back within three weeks.