Professional builders have urged stakeholders to implement and enforce the Lagos State Physical Development Planning Law, as a measure to curb recurring building collapses across the state.

According to them, the neglect of the law has affected the construction sector in the state and triggered avoidable loss of life and properties.They spoke at a media parley organised by the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) ahead of its conference and yearly general meeting with the theme: ‘Safe and Sustainable Building Production Management in Nigeria’ to further map out solutions to menace of structural failure.

Chairman of the chapter, Mr. Lucky Isename, said lack of awareness on the importance of builders have resulted in collapsed buildings. He explained that builders are not enforcement agencies but through awareness and media advocacy, members play their part towards achieving enforcement of the laws.

Isename further said the chapter intends to educate the public on the need to engage a professional builder to execute construction projects and importance of government regulations.

A member of the institute, Mr. Godfrey Chukwurah, said advocacy is key and stressed the need for professionals in the industry to operate within their field. According to him, the government needs to have professionals from the private sector to evaluate building projects from the initial to end stage.

He said NIOB is one of the professional bodies that perform the whistle blower function for the government, as they don’t have the manpower capacity to supervise every site.