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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Tuesday, asked the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), to arrest and prosecute some of its officials who compromise building standards and approve structures sited in flood-prone areas.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, expressed worry over the continuous erection of houses and estates in flood channels within the FCT, saying without the connivance of some government officials, the estate owners cannot complete their structures.
Onwubiko also expressed concerns over the recurring collapse of buildings within Abuja, saying the latest collapse of a building in the Life Camp area of Abuja again reinforces the fact that the FCTA officials are grossly indulging in compromise.
Nine persons were rescued by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) from the collapsed five-storey structure under construction that collapsed on Monday afternoon.
Of late, building collapses have escalated with Abuja being one of the most affected places in Nigeria. According to the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, at least 62 building collapse catastrophes were recorded in 2022, causing 84 deaths and injuring 113 persons.
He said: “Heads should roll and arrests and prosecution should follow immediately. Culpable FCTA officials should be quickly probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for back-channel approval of buildings and estates that don’t meet structural quality and standards.
“What’s going on with quality assurance and standardisation in the FCT building sub-sector? Is the development control agency moribund? These incessant collapses of buildings and frequent cases of floods in some estates call to question the integrity of the processes of awarding approvals to buildings and the technology for effectively enforcing standardisation in the building industry in the FCT.
“Something is fishy within FCT Development Control Agency and this is why the appointment of FCT minister must be merit and competency-based and not based on political patronage or regional bigotry.
“Also, town planners, building control agencies at the state and local government levels as well professional bodies in the construction and quality sector like the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Nigerian Institute of Building and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria must tight up regulatory oversight on new structures springing up all over the country.
“Strong, punitive actions must be taken against corrupt officials who collude with quack engineers and desperate estate builders to endanger homeowner just as it is done in South Korea, United Kingdom, and other part of the world to deter deterrence that compromised and unsafe structures won’t be tolerated any longer.”
