The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has has stated that the ministry would ensure prosection of persons responsible for building collapse in the country.
The Minister stated this during a review meeting with regulatory bodies, of the ministry’s building collapse commitee.
The Ministry’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Badamasi S. Haiba, conveyed that Dangiwa instructed the committee to develop a checklist of professionals involved in the construction process to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of culprits.
Dangiwa stated, “You must come up with a checklist of things to observe during inspection or assessment of building collapse and there must be a column to apportion blame to who is culpable.”
The minister outlined that the checklist should cover essential aspects such as quality assurance of design, concrete quality, slump and soil tests, and the roles of professionals in design, certification, approval, and supervision.
“Once there is a building collapse, we should immediately move there with our checklist, identify it and fill in. Once that is done, you can independently sit down and identify the culprit and support it with tangible evidence that this is the person that hasn’t done the correct thing,” Dangiwa explained.
The proposed checklist will be presented to the National Council on Housing for broader understanding and implementation.
Dangiwa also urged regulatory bodies to submit their inputs to the committee for consideration.
The committee on building collapse had earlier presented twelve recommendations, including the reconstitution of the National Building Code Advisory Committee, reviewing the Acts establishing ARCON, CORBON, and TOPREC, and implementing punitive measures for professional negligence.
The Chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Bldr. Samson Ameh Opaluwah, praised the minister’s initiative and the government’s commitment to addressing building collapse issues.
“Before, when there was an incident of building collapse, nothing was done to it but this initiative shows that the Federal Government and the Ministry are concerned and ready to tackle this issue to ensure safety and security of lives and properties,” Opaluwah noted.
The meeting included representatives from various regulatory bodies such as the Council for the Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria (COREN), Town Planners Registration Council (TOPREC), and the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), who advocated for training artisans and technicians to adhere to construction specifications.
