N’Assembly chapel inaugurated 19-year after commissioning  

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on Sunday inaugurated the newly completed National Assembly Chapel, fulfilling a vision first conceived almost two decades ago by Christian lawmakers.

This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by Akpabio’s media aide, Jackson Udom.

The ceremony marks the culmination of a 19-year journey that began in the Sixth Assembly with the idea of a Christian Legislators Fellowship, which, according to the Senate President, operated for years without a dedicated place of worship within the National Assembly complex.

However, Akpabio was first elected as the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District in 2015, lost in the 2019 senatorial elections, and won again in 2023.

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was elected to the Senate to represent Lagos Central Senatorial District in 2011, marking the beginning of the 7th Assembly.

Speaking at the event, Akpabio reflected on the long wait and the perseverance of lawmakers who kept the vision alive.

“After the idea of a Christian Legislators Fellowship was conceived by patriotic Christian legislators in the Sixth Assembly, we had no dedicated place to pray. We prayed in borrowed rooms. We prayed in basements. We prayed wherever space permitted.

Yet faithful men and women carried a vision—a vision to build a sacred place where legislators could gather, humble themselves in prayer, and seek the face of God, believing His promise that when His people call upon Him, He will hear from Heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land.”

The Senate President recalled that when he assumed office and visited the site earmarked for the chapel, it had been abandoned.

Akpabio paid glowing tribute to the First Lady for her role in the completion of the project.

Describing the chapel as more than just a physical structure, Akpabio said it would serve as a spiritual anchor within Nigeria’s highest law-making body.

First Lady described the chapel as a spiritual reminder of the higher moral responsibility placed on those entrusted with the task of lawmaking.

In his remarks, General Gowon urged legislators to ensure that all their actions are guided by the best interest of the country.

Former Speaker Yakubu Dogara, described the facility as a call to national repentance and unity.

Special prayers were offered for Nigeria, President Tinubu, leaders at all levels of government and members of the National Assembly.