Journalists attached to the Senate were on Tuesday barred from covering the Red Chamber’s proceedings, which were held in a makeshift room.
Members of the National Assembly resumed plenary Tuesday after a two-month recess. But the lawmakers were relocated to a temporary venue due to the ongoing remodelling of the main chamber.
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The renovation work is expected to be completed in August 2023.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan, in a speech delivered at the commencement of plenary yesterday, said the ninth National Assembly has insisted that the parliament complex be renovated and remodelled to bring it in line with the universal standard of good and suitable parliamentary environments.
Accredited journalists who turned up early to cover legislative activities of the Red Chamber were barred from the hearing Room 022 that served as a makeshift chamber, except for four cameramen and about six reporters.
Others were asked to rely on their colleagues who were allowed into the gallery for information on the proceedings.
Worried by the development, Ola Awoniyi, media aide to the Senate President, appealed to journalists to bear with the situation, explaining that the decision to restrict access to the makeshift chamber was a result of space constraints
He said the restriction will be temporary as the ICT and engineering services were working on sending feeds through the official television of the National Assembly (NASSTV) to the media centre.
This is not the first time journalists attached to the Senate worked in this kind of condition.
Journalists had been barred from monitoring proceedings at the Senate chamber’s gallery and restricted to the media centre since the twilight of the 8th Assembly.
The arrangement has been sustained by the 9th Senate.
