10th May, 2012
The Lagos State House of Assembly has announced that beginning from 31 May, its just completed ultra-modern chamber would be in use.
The old chamber would then become a hall for public hearings and other related events.
The Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, disclosed this at the floor of the House while inaugurating a committee to ensure a smooth commissioning of the complex which has been described as second to none in the country and comparable with the National Assembly.
The Chairman, House Committee on House Matters and Special Duties, Ipoola Omisore, further told Assembly Matters that it was an opportunity to showcase what God had done for the state and the Assembly.
He said that apart from the sitting space at the National Assembly, even the federal lawmakers would envy the State Assembly members over the accomplishment.
“It is well equipped with a gallery that can take almost 2,000; we have a cubicle for the press to cover the House sittings; we have a place for our choir in case of public events; we have a place for those invited before the House; we also have a place where the governor can stay to present his budget proposal; the clerk-at-table setting is second to none.
“The audio-visual setting is second to none. You can vote from your seat and there are screens where people would see what is going on,” he said, adding that the building housed several committee rooms and the Assembly canteen.
“Whoever is part of this history, particularly members of the sixth and seventh Assembly, would walk tall concerning the structure.
“We are going to pull down the wing of the old building constructed by the Lateef Jakande administration currently used as offices for lawmakers,” he said, commending Governor Babatunde Fashola and the Speaker of the House for the execution of the structure.
He said that over the years, lawmakers in the state had been suffering, stating that in the fifth Assembly, the lawmakers had no toilets in their offices and had to use the general toilets.
He also said the secretaries of lawmakers at that time had no offices as the lawmakers and their staff were all in the same room.
“What is happening is an evolution. When you have comfortable offices, productivity is increased
“In the new office structure currently under construction, the personal assistants have their offices, the secretaries also have theirs and the lawmakers have compartments for kitchens,” he said.
—Eromosele Ebhomele