Work has started again at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly complex in Uyo. This comes almost 11 months after lawmakers and staff left the rehabilitation site.
A PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the complex on Wednesday, 23 September, which is the 39th anniversary of Akwa Ibom State. The reporter saw construction work happening at the site.
This was especially significant because while the state celebrated its anniversary with the opening of 39 projects, the Assembly complex was still not usable. Lawmakers, who had approved the state’s budgets, had been without a functioning legislative building for nearly a year.
The reporter noticed activities like moulding concrete blocks, blockwork in the main building's reception area, and workers trying to restore construction equipment that had been sitting idle.
Two workers were seen making what looked like six-inch blocks. There were also three heaps of granite chippings and two heaps of sand delivered to the site. Workers were busy adding blocks to walls in different parts of the building.
In another part of the entrance, a worker was reinforcing a bamboo-stick structure, likely for parapet work. Fresh bamboo sticks were also spotted nearby.
Three technicians were working on a crane that had been at the site but had not been used during previous visits by PREMIUM TIMES. A concrete mixer, which had also been lying idle, was in use by workers during Wednesday’s visit.
Some workers told PREMIUM TIMES that they started preparing for work last weekend after sand, granite chippings, and bamboo sticks arrived at the complex. They mentioned that actual rehabilitation work began on Monday.
But a source familiar with the situation was unsure if this renewed activity would last. "As of yesterday morning, the last I was aware, the company had not been mobilised for this work. I don’t know what has happened today," the source said.
The source added, "We are afraid that if the company is not mobilised soon, the work may not continue." PREMIUM TIMES could not confirm this claim about the contractor's mobilization.
Some workers at the site were wearing vests marked “CLAD.” The renewed activity came after PREMIUM TIMES published a series of reports highlighting the long inactivity at the complex and the questions surrounding the project.
The Assembly complex had been shut down for rehabilitation since lawmakers and staff were told to leave in October 2025. A report on 16 June showed that the state budgeted ₦15.47 billion for the rehabilitation and remodelling of the complex in 2025 and 2026.
The report also noted that more than seven months after the relocation of legislative and administrative activities, not much visible work had been done at the facility. Another report on 18 August found that the complex was still idle nine months after the relocation, despite the budget set for the project. The contractor had previously promised to finish in six months, but that deadline passed in April 2026.
The August report also pointed out the contrast between the inactivity at the Assembly complex and ongoing construction projects funded by the state.
The long delay caused issues over where the legislature should hold its meetings. PREMIUM TIMES reported in June that a disagreement over security at the Akwa Ibom Government House disrupted a planned session of the House, which had been using temporary venues while the complex was being renovated.
Days later, the Speaker, Udeme Otong, suspended his press secretary after a statement said lawmakers would return to the Assembly complex. On 1 September, Mr. Otong’s Press Secretary, Emmanuel Ebong, announced his reinstatement on Facebook.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the House Services Committee would oversee the work while the state Direct Labour Committee managed the actual construction. On 22 August, PREMIUM TIMES noted that the Assembly decided to return to its main complex despite the stalled renovation.
This latest work resumption comes as the state prepares to present the 2027 budget proposal. Some lawmakers expressed embarrassment over the lengthy closure and worried that the state’s revenue couldn't justify having the legislature displaced for so long.
They told the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, that they want the 2027 budget presented at the Assembly complex. They said it would be embarrassing if the governor came to present the budget while major parts of the building were still unfinished.
The Akwa Ibom budget calendar requires the draft budget to be presented to the House at least eight weeks before the end of the year, with October as the deadline.
The state government has yet to explain why the Assembly rehabilitation stalled for months or why work resumed now. PREMIUM TIMES reported in June that the project procurement raised questions, including the contractor's history and the lack of clear information on how they were chosen.
The project is among several major ones for which detailed spending and procurement records have been hard to find. For now, workers are back at the complex, equipment is being used, and fresh materials have arrived. Whether this activity means a real restart of the ₦15.47 billion rehabilitation or just a temporary effort is still unclear.
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