Mr Festus Adebayo, the Chief Executive Officer, Fesadeb Communications Limited, has attributed frequent cases of building collapse in the country to corruption.
Adebayo, the convener of the just-concluded 13th Abuja International Housing Show, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
According to him, the country is witnessing unprofessional practices by the regulatory authorities and some developers.
He identified the major causes of building collapse as faulty design, professional incompetence and greed on the part of developers.
Adebayo advised developers not to be too concerned with financial gains at the expense of quality job and the lives of the people.
He called on the government and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that qualified professionals were engaged in building construction to avoid future disaster.
“Cases of building collapse are on the increase in the country. The questions are: where are the professionals? Where are the regulatory authorities? What are they doing to address the issue?” he queried.
On the recent incident at Lokogoma in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the expert decried situations where relevant authorities would go and pull down buildings after construction.
“Where were they when the building of such structures commenced? Who gave the owners of such structures the approval?” he further queried.
Adebayo called on developers and relevant authorities in the country to rise above corruption so that Nigeria would not continue to witness building collapses and demolition of completed houses.
NAN recalls that a heavy rainfall claimed the life of a 17-year-old boy at Efab Estate, Lokogoma, in June and destroyed many houses and property worth millions of Naira.
Consequently, the FCT administration embarked on demolition of some marked structures in the area, following the expiration of a two-week ultimatum issued by the Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Chinyeaka Ohaa.
The notice was for owners of the buildings obstructing flood plains and water channels in the district to evacuate their property. (NAN)
