End incessant building collapses now, FG urges stakeholders

Minister of State for Industry, Trade, and Investment, John Enoh, gave the charge at a national conference on the Building/Construction Sector themed, “Adherence to Standard Practices: Bedrock of Sustainable Development in the Building/Construction Sector”, organissed by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.

This was as the SON Director General, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke, revealed that sub-standard products are not the primary cause of the persistent structural collapses witnessed in the country but a gap in regulations.

The country has witnessed rampant cases of building and structural collapses in recent times.

The Building Collapse Prevention Guild said Nigeria witnessed 635 building collapse cases between 1974 and November 5, 2024, in its latest report, stating that Lagos State had recorded the highest number of cases, with over 351 buildings caving in the last 50 years.

The report showed that the 351 collapsed buildings in Lagos represented 55.28 per cent of the total of 635 recorded cases across the country during this period.

Reflecting on numerous cases of building collapses in the country, Eno tasked every stakeholder connected to building and structure construction to close their ranks and find lasting solutions to the incessant collapse of buildings.

He said, “I am aware of the several efforts by some on this matter. My mandate to you on this crucial matter is to ensure safer,  more reliable structures. This forum affords me a chance to relate with relevant stakeholders in the industry and to unite and collaborate for the common purpose of safety.

“In the discussion here, I’d like to encourage everyone to focus more on the areas of pre-construction,  construction, and post-construction regulatory and enforcement framework in the promotion of public awareness, as well as capacity building enhancement.

“The current administration is concerned about the security of lives and property. It’s uppermost on the agenda of the current administration. So putting a stop to the unending incidents of building and construction collapses is paramount.

“I believe adhering to strictly agreed standard practices will be a contribution to the priority of the administration. I look forward to very robust engagements and discussions, and I hope that the outcome of this will be very enabling and very useful to get this sector, the building and construction sector, right.”

Speaking further, the SON DG said the agency observed that regulatory gaps are one of the reasons for the collapse and not substandard products as widely perceived.

He said, “Three months ago, this idea came to me after a series of building collapses in the country. In all of the incidents with building collapse, SON visits the scene to take samples, and after taking samples, we found out that it is not a result of sub-standard products, but there is a gap in terms of regulations.

“In the incidents in Jos and other places, we found out people were building on existing structures without approvals from the required agency that should have given them the approval. So what we did is to close the gap and make sure that regulations. So it’s important to bring all stakeholders to discuss this issue and fashion a way out.”

He also regretted that despite many sensitisation and awareness campaigns carried out by SON over the years, many industry stakeholders and practitioners still lack awareness of the standards required for safe, durable, and sustainable buildings.