ECOWAS Parliament, FCT To Restore Normalcy At Conference Centre

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has assured the public that it is working with the relevant authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to restore the normal order of its work environment following the temporary shutting down of the Abuja International Conference Centre (ICC).

In a statement issued by the communications division of the Parliament at the weekend, the shutdown situation which is on the instruction of the Federal Government of Nigeria has led to the ECOWAS Parliament’s operations being negatively impacted.

It said, “The Parliament maintains some shared services with the Abuja ICC such as electricity supply and some leased office spaces which serve as annexes to the Parliament.

“Nonetheless, the recent erratic general state of affairs in power supply has caused the Parliament to experience power disruptions during work hours, owing to the absence of the ICC power generator personnel engaged to man the service.”

It observed that the ICC shut-down also triggered the deployment of a new security management at its main entrance as well as the demarcation of the ICC – ECOWAS Parliament facilities with temporary perimeter fencing, whereas hitherto, they had seamless boundaries separating the two facilities.

“As Parliament has established talks with the FCT authorities, it can safely infer that these measures put in place by its host authorities are to facilitate the impending rehabilitation exercise being planned for the ICC facility. It was not intended to cause any disruptions and inconveniences for the Parliament.

“To this extent, ECOWAS Parliament is hereby, reassuring all its stakeholders that discussions are on-going with its host, with a view to ensure that its operations are smooth, with the least possible interruptions,” the statement added.