Following the recent strings of collapsed building across the country, the federal government on Tuesday inaugurated
an inter-ministerial committee as part of its commitment to find a permanent solution to the menace which has claimed several lives.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Abuja the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to do everything that is humanly possible to stop building collapse because of its toll on human life.
The Minister recalled many painful stories of Building collapse noting that no parent ever wishes to have the dead body of his or her children, adding that the government is taking necessary steps to find permanent solution to this recurring disaster.
He commended the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRI) an agency of the ministry for its research and investigation which has helped to reduce the cases of collapsed building in the country.
According to Dr. Onu, it is important that every building collapse should be investigated because to secure human life and protect our environment. He charged the committee to put the interest of the nation first in its assignment.
Representatives of all regulatory agencies in the management of construction industries are in the Committee. The committee has two weeks to summit its report.
In his remarks, the chairman of the committee and the Acting Director-General/CEO of NBRRI, Prof. Samson Duna, noted that the impact of collapse Building affected entire human fabrics, causing psychological trauma, loss of lives and properties, loss of government revenue, with victims being rendered homeless apart from suffering permanent disabilities
According to Duna, “most of the building collapsed has been linked to man-made mistakes which can be avoided and eradicated completely. There is urgent need to stop this ugly trend by investigating the root causes of the problems and make appropriate recommendation”
On behalf of the committee and with the caliber of professionals in the committee, He promised to get to the root causes of the problems and proffer practical and implementable solutions that will go a long way to forestall future occurrence.
Duna thanked the Minister for impacting positively in the areas of Research and Development, particularly, as it concerns Science, Innovation and Technology.