Institute Blames Building Collapse On Poor Oversight

The Chairman of the Lagos branch of Nigerian Institute of Building, Mr Akinpelu Jelili, has blamed the rampant incidence of building collapse on governments’ poor oversight in the past.

Jelili said  in Lagos that previous governments did little to curtail the menace.

According to him, neglect is the cause of rampant building collapse noticed almost on daily basis across the country.

“Until the rules for construction, as spelt out in the National Building Codes, are followed, incidence of building collapse will remain.

“The National Building Code stipulates not only the building standards, but also the right materials and the category of professionals to be engaged at every stages of a building.

“Strict adherence to standards is the only way to prevent further building collapse.

“Any building with structural defects will eventually collapse. For the building industry to make safe housing delivery, those past mistakes should be corrected.

“But the problem remains that there has not been penalty for those who violated the set building standards,” he said.