September 10, (THEWILL) — The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Capital City and Urban Development, Hon. Sunday Inyima, has stated that henceforth the state government would engage professional engineers, which include, but not limited to Estate Valuers and Surveyors, Architects Registration Council of Nigeria, among others, to forestall building collapses in Ebonyi State.
Hon. Inyima stated this when receiving in his Abakaliki office, the report of the panel on investigation of the partial collapse block of Pentagon Hostel at the Alex Ekweme Federal University, Ndufu Alike, Ikwo.
According to the commissioner, there was need to constitute the committee with relevant professionals and engage them in building of structures in the state to prevent building collapse.
THEWILL recalls that Pentagon hostel, a two-storey building occupied by students located opposite the gate of the popular Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo in Ebonyi State had partially collapsed, necessitating the investigation.
Inyima said, “Well, let me, on behalf of the Ministry of Capital City Development and Government Planning, appreciate members of this committee for a job timely and well-comprehensively delivered.
“When this issue of building collapse occurred, we thought it very necessary to institute this committee to look into what the problem is that led to this very unfortunate incident. Even though we didn’t lose life, but properties of students were lost as a result of this collapse.
“We didn’t just want to continue to wait for another one to happen, but we wanted to see a reason why we should do something to prevent this type of thing from happening again in the future. This is why we instituted your committee. And I am happy that today,that you have come up with a report in this booklet that I’m having on my hand.
He assured that the ministry was going to look into it and subsequently present it to the governor.
“The Ministry and the government is going to look into it very, very well. I am going to take time after this our meeting now to look into it and then also make a summary or an executive summary of this report and forward to my principal, the Governor of Ebonyi State, who coincidentally is also a builder himself, to thoroughly look into it and then the government will come up with a statement.
“The essence of bringing you professionals together is also to let you know that in subsequent approvals that is going to be coming out from this Ministry, that we are going to ensure that each of these relevant professional bodies is tied to any construction that is going to be coming up.
“That was why I even formed the initial committee in which we have sent your report to His Excellency. I hope that any moment soon that we are going to have his approval so that for any building plan approval to be gotten in this Ministry, it means that all relevant professionals are involved in the building of such a structure.
“That is the only way we can avoid this type of thing in the future because I know that if proper professionals, talking about the builders, talking about the engineers, talking about the architects, talking about the town planners, even the estate valuers, if all of them are involved, we won’t be having this type of thing.
“I am grateful to God that we have not lost any life within this, our administration. Most of these buildings that are collapsing are buildings that maybe were started and even completed before this administration of His Excellency, Right Honorable Builder Francis Oboninangwe, if he came on board.
“But in any case, government is a continuum, so we cannot share the responsibility and that is why we want to take precaution that from now, this type of thing, by the grace of God, will not happen again. So I congratulate you for this exercise for our state and thank you very much for serving the people of Ebonyi State.
The report was earlier presented by the co-chairman, Builder Nwekete Chinasa Jonathan, who represented the Chairman, Engr. Eni Enyinnaya.
Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
