There was a massive power outage at the National Assembly, which resulted in delays and disruptions to critical legislative processes.
The interruption was triggered by a defective generator powering the Senate wing of the National Assembly, which also produced a partial blackout in the Red Chamber while legislators waited for electricity to be restored.
The Senate plenary could not begin at its planned time of 11 a.m. because numerous senators were spotted waiting in the Senate rooms in the dark for more than an hour before the session began.
It was discovered that the Senate generator was also malfunctioning, and air conditioners in the offices of approximately 20 senators are currently not operating.
Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate, apologized to his colleagues for the power interruption and assured them that steps are being taken to resolve the problem.
He said, “They are still working on the lights. It went off since morning; it’s even affecting some offices on the fourth floor. We have about nine offices that have not been able to rectify them, but they’re working on it.
“I noticed even members of the press are fanning themselves; at least they feel the heat too. If it gets too hot, then we may have to adjourn for a while, but they are working on it. I apologise for any inconvenience,” Akpabio said at the commencement of plenary.
Also commenting on the situation, Chairman, Senate Services Committee, Senator Sunday Karimi, APC, Kogi West, said, “It is an uncommon incident. Since the 10th Assembly, we’ve not heard of this kind of experience.
“Often, when we are sitting, we use the generator. Unfortunately, our generator developed a fault today.
“It has nothing to do with the fuel issue. So, it is time to switch to the second generator used by the House of Representatives.
“You will also observe that within 10 to 15 minutes of switching, our generator was restored.”