Ahmed Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, has announced that the ministry will take decisive action to prosecute individuals responsible for building collapses across the nation.
Dangiwa made this statement during a review meeting focused on the recommendations from the ministry’s building collapse committee, which included various regulatory bodies in the construction sector.
He urged the Committee on Building Collapse to create a comprehensive checklist of professionals involved in the construction process to facilitate investigations and pinpoint those at fault.
“You need to develop a checklist that outlines key factors to observe during inspections or assessments of building collapses, including a section to assign blame to those responsible. This checklist must ensure quality assurance regarding design, concrete quality, and soil testing prior to construction,” he stated.
The minister emphasized that the checklist should also identify the individuals responsible for the building’s design, certification, approval, and supervision.
“This initiative aims to hold accountable those responsible and to put an end to the troubling incidents of building collapses in our country. When a collapse occurs, we should promptly utilize our checklist to identify the issues and document them.
“Once this is accomplished, we can independently determine the responsible parties and substantiate our findings with concrete evidence showing who failed to meet their obligations.
“The checklist should clarify whether the design was properly executed, if the professionals involved were certified, if development control approvals were obtained, if supervision was conducted by qualified personnel, and if the building was repurposed without proper authorization,” he added.
Dangiwa indicated that once the checklist is finalized, it will be presented to the National Council on Housing to ensure widespread understanding and engagement in its implementation.
He called on regulatory bodies within the construction sector to submit their feedback and contributions to the Committee on Building Collapse for consideration in the checklist.
In response to the committee’s recommendations, Mr. Samson Opaluwah, Chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), praised the minister for this initiative.
Opaluwah noted that the committee had proposed 12 recommendations, including the reconstitution of the National Building Code Advisory Committee and a review of the legislation governing architects and builders councils.
He stated that these measures would enhance their effectiveness in combating unqualified practitioners.
Other recommendations included the establishment of punitive measures for professional negligence and the need for regulatory bodies to collaborate in the event of a collapse, among others.
