Building Collapse: Ebonyi Govt Takes Steps To Forestall Reoccurrence

The Ebonyi State Commissioner of Capital City Development and Urban Planning Chief Sunday Elechi Inyima has revealed that the State Government has an initiative plan to halt the incessant collapse of buildings within the State.

Chief Inyima maintained that, before now, the State has been experiencing building collapses and noted that the occurrence is not peculiar to the State alone, but is also prevalent all over the world and in every other state in the country.

He disclosed this during the unveiling of the professional building approval compliance form for all developers in the State, which he said will serve as a regulatory tool to determine building approvals in the state.

The Commissioner, while unveiling the form in his office along Ezza Road, Abakaliki, noted that they had decided to achieve best practices within the built industry in the State.

He urged all developers to ensure that all the professional bodies involved in the State Professional Building Approval Compliance Form are duly engaged and duly signed by the six professional bodies before seeking approval from the Ministry of Capital City Development.

Chief Inyima said that the professional bodies that must sign the form before approval will be considered, including an Architect Professional, Civil Engineer, Structural Professional, Electrical Engineer’s Professional, Mechanical Engineer’s Professional, Builder’s Professional and Town Planner’s professional.

He commended the State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, for his commitment to the building sector, adding that the impact is being felt within the Ministry responsible for monitoring and regulating all activities within the industry.

Chief Inyima noted that a letter of undertaking must be signed, sealed, and stamped by a registered professional who will serve as a consultant to supervise and visit the proposed development site during construction.

The client must engage a registered builder to execute the day-to-day construction and implement the input on the approved professional’s documents, taking responsibility for any lapses or failures in the execution of the project during and at the post-construction stages.

He charged the professional bodies to work hard and ensure that, henceforth, any building that has duly passed through this assessment and later fails in the future, the license of those involved shall be immediately withdrawn.

The Chairman of the Council for Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria, Engr. Eni Enyinnaya also commended the State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, for providing the council with an enabling environment to operate and for his determination to end building collapses in the state.

The Ebonyi State Representative in the Town Planning Registration Council of Nigeria, TOPREC, Dr Chinedu Okoro, assured that with all the efforts being put together by the Ministry and the professional bodies, building collapse will soon be a thing of the past in the State.

Dr Okoro solicited the cooperation of all members of the professional bodies to ensure that the state government’s desire is achieved and urged developers to shun any form of shortcut or act that would jeopardise the state government’s efforts in sanitising the system.