FCTA Inaugurates Committee on Building Collapse

 Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Department of Development Control of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has inaugurated a seven-man committee to map out plans on prevention of building collapse in the FCT.

 The committee, which has Allabel Ndirmbula as the chairman and Ajibade Adeyinka as the secretary, was inaugurated by the Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima.

The committee has two months to complete its assignment. Its representatives are drawn from all the professional bodies in the building sector.

Galadima called on members of the panel to identify and provide measures that will help in forestalling building collapse. He also directed the team to look out for weak structures and recommend them for integrity test.

He said: “Constituting the committee will help us to investigate buildings that are not structurally stable to be used for human habitation. It is good to go round and identify such structures and conduct integrity test where necessary and provide remedial measures.”

Responding on behalf of the committee, Ndirmbula, who was former president of Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria, said the committee is saddled with the responsibility of recommending things that would work to forestall building collapse

He added that in line with the term of reference, the committee will determine which structures in an old area of Abuja that will be subjected to integrity test.

According to him, “In the phase 1 of the exercise, the committee will determine structures in old areas of Abuja, places like Wuse 1 and 2, Garki, and Asokoro. We will recommend those to be used as consultants to carry out the test, as well as to do any other thing that could help us prevent building collapse in Abuja.

 “We want to have a system that checks and ensures that issue of rampant building collapse is stopped,” he said.

In his remarks, Adeyinka, who is also Assistant Director in the Department of Development Control, decried a lot of compromises in the building industry, adding that the committee will look into areas that need improvement.