Organise National Summit to Alleviate Building Collapse, Surveyors Tell FG

Anayo Okolie

As part of efforts to curb the incessant cases of building collapse across the country, the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyor (NIQS) has asked the federal government to urgently organise a national summit, which would create avenue for stakeholders to proffer solutions to the problem.

Over the years, Nigeria has witnessed several cases of building collapse, leading to loss of so many lives. But the surveyors under the umbrella of NIQS believe that such a summit would put an end to the menace.

According to a statement issued by the President of NIQS, Mrs. Mercy Iyortyer, it has become obvious that all hands must be on deck to arrest the situation.

Calling for the need for all stakeholders to sit down and chart a way forward, Iyortyer said such summit should involve all those who have positive contributions to make in order to put an end to the menace of building collapse.

She however, identified faulty structural designs, use of substandard building materials, inadequate enforcement of enabling building regulations and among others as some of the causes of building collapse, saying that only a coordinated approach can arrest the trend.
“It is obvious that government alone cannot stop the incidents of building collapse, which have left hundreds of innocent Nigerians either dead or maimed.”

Iyortyer called on the federal government to ensure that appropriate sanctions are mated to professionals and landlords or even quacks whose attitudes lead to unavoidable loss of woman lives.