The Chairman of Rivers State branch of Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Arc. Asomba Egbuonu, has said that sharp practices at the stage building plans are approved, are responsible for collapse of buildings in Nigeria.
The NIA Chairman further said that the poor design of a building and use of poor-quality materials at construction stage could also cause the collapse of buildings in the country.
Egbuonu who stated this in an interview in Port-Harcourt, said that dishonest practices ought to be avoided at the approval stage for construction of any new building.
He said: “You have a lot of corruption (and) sharp practices at the approval stage (for building plans) and unfortunately these are done by Nigerians and government officials who should know better. At the approval stage, some Nigerians throw money around and get approval for buildings that ought not to be approved”.
He said that granting approval for a building plan which ought not to be granted approval, is a “major problem” in the design and construction of buildings in Nigeria.
The NIA boss who listed three stages in a building programme, said that out of pre-contract, approval and construction stages, it was important for officials of government in State Ministries of Urban Development and Physical Planning to have qualified professionals to do proper work, before any building plan should be approved.
He further said that qualified professionals should supervise a building project at the construction stage, after a building plan is approved by officials of a State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning.
He said that the recent collapse of buildings in Lagos State was as a result of the fact that the buildings failed, from the “shoddy work” done in the construction stage.
He said that the collapse of buildings should not be acceptable in Nigeria which is “so rich in manpower”, as there are many qualified architects and engineers to be engaged to do a good job.
The NIA Chairman said that the government should ensure that professionals are being used in the approval stage to grant permit to building plans and also to ensure that a building project agrees with the approved plan.
He appealed to the governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, to implement the report of the commission of inquiry set up to look into the collapse of a seven-story building in Port-Harcourt last year.
Egbuonu said: “I call on the governor of the state to ensure that he implements the report of the judicial panel of inquiry that he set up last year to look at the seven-story building that collapsed in (Woji) GRA (,Port-Harcourt). I’m very confident that if there are recommendations and they are properly implemented, we will have moved a step further in issues of building collapse in Nigeria”.
The NIA Chairman who stated that the number one danger in building collapse is the possible loss of human life, appealed to governments at all levels to take the issue of building collapse in Nigeria seriously and also to implement the laws concerning building development in the country.
