Guild moves against ‘imminent’ collapse of Lagos seaports

Disturbed by weak nature of national infrastructure and news of imminent collapse of Lagos seaports, the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), yesterday, raised a committee to stave the commotion. 

BCPG President, Eddy Atumonyogo, who inaugurated the 14-member panel in Lagos, said the information was disturbing to the built sector due to its negative effect on the national economy.
  
The standing committee, drawing its powers from the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011 that allows groups access to data of governmental agencies, parastatals and private organisations, is to, immediately unravel circumstances behind the almost frequent caving in of Lagos seaports.
 
He stressed that BCPG, as an advocacy group, comprising professionals from seven built professions, said the Federal Government recognised this national embarrassment, as attested to by signing of the presidential Executive Order 11 earlier this year.

Stating that the committee has six weeks to complete the assignment, Atumonyogo listed the terms of reference to include engagement of government agencies in charge of maintenance of critical national infrastructure, starting with Lagos sea ports; outlining critical national infrastructure strategic to economic health and growth of the nation, and proposing ways to prevent decay of these infrastructure based on best global practices.
 
Others are: to ensure qualified Nigerian professionals are involved in designing and maintaining the facilities for durability; evolve ways of ensuring that public officers charged with care of the infrastructure are alive to their responsibilities and propose best ways to penalise defaulting public officials, among others.
  
The panel’s vice president, Mrs. Olusaga Adekemi, charged members to live up to expectation. She expressed the hope that government would review recommendations of previous probes and come out with a White Paper on which punishment should be meted out to violators of building regulations.
Responding, the committee chairman, Dr. Tunde Olatunji, promised a diligent job.