Abuja, Nigeria — The President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Godswill Akpabio, and Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on Sunday formally inaugurated a newly completed chapel within the National Assembly complex in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
The inauguration marked the end of a 19-year effort by Christian lawmakers to establish a permanent place of worship inside the National Assembly, which is Nigeria’s federal legislature. The project began during the Sixth National Assembly, which sat between 2007 and 2011, when Christian legislators conceived the idea of a Christian Legislators Fellowship. For years, members of the fellowship met and prayed in temporary spaces within the complex.
In a statement released in Abuja on Sunday by Mr Jackson Udom, media aide to the Senate President, details of the ceremony were made public.
Speaking at the event, Akpabio reflected on the long journey that led to the completion of the chapel. He said the vision had endured despite years without a dedicated space.
“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.”
Okay News reports that the National Assembly complex houses both chambers of Nigeria’s bicameral parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Lawmakers from across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory work there.
Akpabio, who previously served as governor of Akwa Ibom State in southern Nigeria before returning to the Senate, said he found the project site abandoned when he assumed office as Senate President in 2023 at the start of the 10th National Assembly.
“When I first came to this place as the President of the Senate, it was overgrown with weeds—silent and abandoned. And we resolved that neglect would not have the final word. Delay would not have the final word. Faith would have the final word.
“Why was I so convinced? Because standing here today, I must confess with humility that I am a testimony of God’s amazing grace. The best-kept secret behind the Uncommon Transformation of Akwa Ibom State, when I had the privilege to serve as governor, is that it was not the work of man. God did it, and He simply used me as an instrument. And today, I see His hand again at work in this 10th Assembly,” he stated.
The First Lady, who previously represented Lagos Central Senatorial District in the Senate beginning in 2011 during the Seventh National Assembly, was commended for her role in supporting the completion of the chapel.
“Let me pay special tribute to the Esther of our time, the highly esteemed First Lady of our nation, Her Excellency Senator Oluremi Bola Tinubu, for her steadfast support in helping bring to completion this sacred intersection of faith and destiny.
“I thank this remarkable woman of God for graciously honouring us with her presence and for commissioning this Chapel to the glory of Almighty God. I also honour all those—from the 6th Assembly until now—who carried this vision in their hearts and refused to let it die.
“I acknowledge with deep gratitude all who contributed to this noble work, whether in cash or in kind, whose sacrifices have made this day possible,” he noted.
Akpabio described the chapel as more than a building, saying it would serve as a spiritual centre within Nigeria’s highest lawmaking institution.
He also pointed out that the dedication took place during a period of religious observance for Muslims, as many in Nigeria and around the world marked a season of fasting.
“It is deeply instructive that we dedicate this altar of prayer at a time when our Muslim brethren are observing a sacred season of fasting and devotion. In this spirit, let all Nigerians, irrespective of faith, join in seeking God’s guidance, peace, and blessing for our nation,” he added.
The commissioning of the chapel represents a symbolic milestone for Christian lawmakers in the 10th National Assembly. For nearly two decades, members had gathered in borrowed spaces. The completion of the chapel now provides a permanent place of worship within the federal legislature’s premises.
