THE Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has challenged the integrity of regulatory bodies following the partial collapse of a three-storey private hostel building: Pentagon Lodge, accommodating students of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State.
Among regulatory bodies challenged by the governor over the collapse of the hostel are the Nigerian Society of Engineers and Nigerian Institute of Building.
Nwifuru, who also challenged other concerned building regulatory bodies in Nigeria on the need to stem the incidence of building collapses in the country to protect their integrity, spoke with newsmen on Saturday in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
The governor, who ordered full scale investigations into the circumstances that led to the incident, noted that most buildings collapse as a result of human error and non compliance with building codes, a development he stressed has posed serious danger to human lives.
While further attributing incessant building collapses in the country to poor construction practices and flagrant disregard of building codes, he charged relevant bodies and agencies to step up monitoring and supervision of building projects from foundation to completion.
Nwifuru said: “It is disheartening to learn about building collapse in this era when we have skilled manpower and well established professional standards.
“I have directed the Ministry of Capital City Development to ensure that any developer wishing to embark on building projects must get approval.
“Lives of our people are precious and cannot be compromised under any guise.
“The Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institute of Building and other regulatory agencies should note that their integrity is at stake.
“Therefore, I urge them to ensure that building collapse becomes a thing of the past.”
The governor assured that any one or group found culpable after the investigation, would be made to face the law, and advised developers to always engage professionals in the execution of their building projects.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Capital City Development, Chief Sunday Inyima, and his Housing counterpart, Francis Ori, and that of Internal Security, Chief Eta Uka, who earlier embarked on an inspection tour of the damaged parts of the building, informed that the state government has directed all students living in the facility to relocate immediately.
They noted that the State Government has also provided an alternative accommodation for both the male and female students within the school environment, adding that security agencies have been mobilised to ensure compliance by the students.
Some of the students who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity said about 3,000 students have been rendered homeless in the school environment following the incident, which has led to the sealing of the massive hostel complex.
They noted that the Pentagon Lodge is the largest hostel complex housing students of the institution with about five three-storey buildings, each having about 75 rooms.
