Consultant Seeks Building Code Review

A real estate and property management consultant, Eze Akwa Udi, has called for a review of the national building code.
This call comes on the heels of increased cases of building collapse in the country.
Udi who made this call in a chat with The Tide in Port Harcourt yesterday said, “before the building code is passed into law it should be reviewed, because some aspects of the current building code do not conform with engineering structures and as such, cannot be applied”.
The consultant stated that the current “building code is not water-tight and is easily violated by builders, the specifications give room for quackery to thrive therefore we have to come up with a code that makes quackery unattractive”.
He lamented that some developers do not engage the services of professionals who would give attention to details, hence the erection of building with defects to the detriment of the client.
Udi recommended that all developers should adhere strictly to the stipulations of a building code that outlines in clear terms that they must obtain approval for design calculations, specifications and drawings and suggested that only structural engineers should be entrusted with design and supervision.
He advised engineers to take a decisive stand in ensuring that all building guidelines are followed to the later and purge the institute of unqualified who come up with unethical practices.