The Director, Highway Engineering, Delta Ministry of Works, Engr. Joshua Egube, has called on government to initiative effective policies to check frequent building collapse in the country.
The former Chairman, Delta State Administrative Board of Enquiry into Collapsed Buildings, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Asaba.
He said such deliberate policies were critical to saving the country from loss of lives and resources resulting from building collapse.
Egube said: “We should begin to do something deliberate to save our image and country. It pains me that today we are still talking about collapsed buildings.
“Why should our buildings be collapsing? We can put an end to this ugly scenario in this country if we do some simple things.”
He said, for example, government should insists that before any contract was awarded, the contractor must present to the appropriate authority, all the professionals to be engaged on the project for vetting.
He expressed optimism that building collapse would be effectively checked in the country if such a measure was taken before contracts were awarded.
“First, we must ensure that anybody who is building his or her house is mandated to submit his or her drawings as well as bring his entire team – architect, etc.
“The team should be made to undergo an undertaking that such building will not fail.
“In Delta State, for instance, we told all the contractors to ensure that they employed professionals in whatever projects they were handling.
“It became a policy that before a letter of award was given to a contractor, he or she must be mandated to bring all his or her team of professionals.
“This is necessary because, if those involved in the building projects know that their licences are at risk, they will not do the wrong thing.
“We should stop blaming government for building collapse rather we should begin to hold those concerned accountable,” the fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineers, London, said.
On the recent honoured for his sterline contributions to the Engineering profession by the Bwari Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, he said that the award gave him satisfaction, especially in his career.
