Ineffective national building codes hinder property sector development

Mr Chucks Omeife, a former President, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), on Thursday said lack of effective National Building Codes (NBC) had hindered sustainable growth in the property sector.

Omeife told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the bill on NBC had been with the upper chamber of the National Assembly (NASS) since 2006.

According to him, the absence of an enabling law to support NBC has paved way for unethical practices and conducts among operators in the industry.

”It is due to lack of an enforceable code that a professional involved in a collapsed building that claimed lives and property will be allowed to go free.

“If NBC can be made effective, some of the unethical behaviours and corrupt practices in the sector will be curtailed because people will be sanctioned for the crimes they committed,” he told NAN.

Omeife said that professionals in the building and construction industry had had a series of meetings with the Senate where they dialogued, lobbied and persuaded it to pass the bill.

“It is nine years after the bill on NBC passed the second reading and till date NASS has yet to pass it.

”And, it is only when the bill on codes is passed by the NASS and signed into law by the President that it can become effective and enforceable,” he said.

Omeife urged the NASS to revisit the bill and pass it to facilitate development in the property sector.

NAN reports that Mr Tijani Shuaib, President, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), had decried the non-passage of the bill by the Senate since 2006.

According to him, the NBC draft-bill has undergone the second reading, and awaiting the third reading before it can be passed to the committee stage.

Shuaib said that the early passage of the bill would help in sanitising the construction industry and serve as a document to regulate workings there.