Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to fish out, arrest and prosecute some of its officials who compromise building standards and approve structures sited in flood-prone areas after the house owners grease their palms.
The National Coordinator of the association, Emmanuel Onwubiko, who spoke Tuesday in Abuja, expressed worries over the continuous erection of houses and estates in flood channels within the FCT, saying without the connivance of some government officials, the estate owners cannot successfully complete their structures.
The group expressed concerns over the recurring collapse of buildings within Abuja, stressing that the latest collapse of a building in the Life Camp area of Abuja on Monday, reinforced the fact that FCTA officials were grossly indulging in compromise.
Nine persons were rescued by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) from the collapsed five-story structure under construction that collapsed in the afternoon of Monday.
“Building collapses have escalated with Abuja being one of the most affected places in Nigeria. According to the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, at least, 62 building collapse were recorded in 2022, causing 84 deaths and injuring 113 persons.
“This is despite the housing deficit in Nigeria with more than 28 million Nigerians lacking access to decent and affordable housing, according to estimates by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria”, Onwubiko said,
Adding: “Arrests and prosecution should follow immediately. Culpable FCTA officials should be quickly probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for back-channel approval of buildings and estates that don’t meet structural quality and standards.
“What is going on with quality assurance and standardization in FCT building sub-sector? Is the development control agency moribund?
“These incessant collapses of buildings and frequent cases of floods in some estates call to question the integrity of the processes of awarding approvals to buildings and the technology for effectively enforcing standardization in the building industry in the FCT.
“Something is fishy within FCT Development Control Agency and this is why appointment of FCT minister must be merit and competency based and not based on political patronage or regional bigotry.
“Also, town planners, building control agencies at state and local government levels as well professional bodies in the construction and quality sector like the Standards Organization of Nigeria, Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Nigerian Institute of Building and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria must tight up regulatory oversight on new structures springing up all over the country.
“Strong, punitive actions must be taken against corrupt officials who collude with quack engineers and desperate estate builders to endanger home owner just as it is done in South Korea, United Kingdom, and other part of the world to deter deterrence that compromised and unsafe structures won’t be tolerated any longer.”
