The Abia State Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners,(NITP),Elder Nelson Nwaosu ,has disclosed that henceforth ,any one caught using sub-standard materials for construction would face the full wrath of the law.
Elder Nwaosu ,who made the disclosure in a parley with our reporter in Umuahia,said the increasing rate of building collapse in Nigeria has drawn the attention of citizens as the effects have not only caused damages but embarrassment to government.
According to him, human lives are precious and stakeholders in the building industry can not afford to keep mute and watch citizens perish in the hands of incompetent professionals.
Nwaosu said the regulatory agencies like the NITP and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), should be on a regular heck to construction sites to ensure building materials like sand,cement ,reinforcement bars,among others,are rested and certified fit before the commencement of any major construction.
Apart from sanctions awaiting quacks who cut corners,the NITP chairman maintained that professional bodies should step-up in their responsibilities to sanction members who compromise standards.
He called for the immediate survey of distressed buildings in the states and a massive urban renewal of cities as some Nigerian cities have old areas where the buildings are older than Nigeria as a sovereign state.
Nwaosu said in Abia State ,demolition and rehabilitation of buildings that failed stability test should be carried out ,if the case of collapse would be arrested in the state, stating that there should be a law that would guide against the flouting of building regulations.
Re-call that the increasing rate of building collapse in Nigeria has become alarming ,as a huge number of people lose their lives yearly ,as a result of this mishap.
Recently, a building housing a nursery and a primary school in the Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, collapsed ,killing about 20 persons ,among other collapses that have happened in Port-harcourt ,Akwa, Aba, and Umuahia, leaving town planners worried.
