Minister Offers Panacea For Building Collapse

The Minister of
State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has advised builders to patronise only sandcrete blocks duly certified by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
Ortom who gave the advice at a sensitisation workshop on Sandcrete Manufacturing and Allied Products organised by SON in Lagos said the use of substandard materials was the major causes of building collapse in the country.
According to him, most of the collapsed buildings were either recently built or still under construction, saying that this underscored the fact that the nation had a lot to do in quality assurance both in production process and the application of relevant specifications.
He said, “sandcrete block makers should ensure that their products are of right quality as stipulated by SON.
“The right application of specifications would ensure the durability of your sandcrete block this aligning with the government’s aspiration for affordable housing for  the nation”, he said.
The Director-General of SON, Dr. Ikem Odumodu, said that the wrong application of materials and resources was the major cause of substandard sandcrate blocks.
According to him, “most times, block makers tend to compromise the quality of materials they use in order to gain more profit but this has adverse effect on structures”.
He said that SON would be visiting block making sites to ensure strict compliance to the set standards, adding that the organization had resolved that every block maker must belong to the Block Mounders Association and be certified to operate before functioning.
The theme of the workshop was “In Pursuit of Quality Products and Better Service Delivery”.