Members of the committee probing the contract awarded to renovate the official residences of Speaker Patricia Etteh and Deputy Speaker Babangida Nguroje, were on Tuesday shocked at the extent of damage to the property.

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They were equally alarmed when a member of the National Assembly (NASS) management claimed ignorance of the contract.

NASS Deputy Director (Estate and Works), Anthony Ojih, told the panel, chaired by David Idoko, that "I came to know about it after the media reported it".

He made the point before conducting members of the committee round the Speaker’s cluster of houses, which includes the main building, power house, guest house, boys’ quarters, garage, reception, Aide-de-Camp’s house, and the mosque now being restructured to accommodate a church.

Ojih’s submission contradicts the position of NASS Clerk, Nasiru Arab, who said through the Director of Information, Monima Daminabo, two weeks ago that the management is aware of the contract to upgrade the two houses, which were awarded at N579 million, not the N628 million reported in the media.

The committee expressed surprise that all the air conditioners, the fittings, and other items were removed to ensure the installation of new ones.

They were shocked when told that the bill of quantities for the electrical work was not prepared by the National Assembly Works and Estate Department.

At the residence of the Deputy Speaker opposite the Senate President’s Mansion, members of the panel expressed surprise that several items, including electrical fittings, air conditioners, and suspended ceilings were not in place; even though the building was commissioned on March 3, 2007 by former Speaker Aminu Bello Masari.

When they sought to know the whereabouts of the items, Ojih (accompanied by the National Assembly Chief Archtiect, Olatunde Ojo), said they were removed by the officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) before the renovation began.

"We have seen the work being done", Idoko told journalists after the inspection. "You notice that they are doing floors and they are also stripping probably all the walls, and the windows are being replaced completely. And to that extent we have to look at the areas that are being demolished and are intended to be demolished. They conducted us round.

"However, what we can tell you is that we have to have an open mind towards the investigation. We have to be briefed by the architect, the people who prepared the bill of quantities, and relate them to what level of dilapidation we saw in the areas that were not done.

"The immediate user just left the place (Speaker’s residence) and floors could not hold. I think that we asked and you were all there and they said that it was from the usage point. Those are the areas we will want to look at. We are happy that you are seeing them with us. You have also seen what it is.

"We have not gone into the bills; we are just looking at the physical structures that are being done yet. We have not looked at the hidden internal things that will go in, and some reinforcement they intend to do. We are yet to see them, and be properly briefed. So, it is not safe to draw any conclusions now".

Idoko confirmed that FCDA architects, the project contractors, and NASS Director of Works would be summoned, but was not sure if and when Etteh would be invited.

"We are trying to collaborate collectively from what we learnt on site, to be able to determine who and who to invite for further scrutiny or to help us to throw more light on the issue".

Former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Jeremiah Useni, applauded the investigation, recalling that the same official quarters were furnished with only N6.5 million in 1994 when he was at the helm of affairs at the FCT.

He lamented in Jos that if what he read in the newspapers and the testimony of lawmakers are true, the cost of renovation is over bloated even if put at between N200 million and N300 million.