National Council On Lands Vow To Address Building Collapse In Nigeria

BY NAJIB SANI, GOMBE

Stakeholders in the lands, housing and urban development have vowed to address buildings collapse in the country that poses threat to life.

The stakeholders including states’ commissioners, permanent secretaries for housing, lands, urban development, general managers, chief executive officers of housing corporations, states surveyor- generals, professionals and regulatory agencies in the housing and building industry made the vow on Monday during the opening ceremony of the 13th meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development.

Our correspondent reports that the ceremony held at international conference centre Gombe, Gombe State was organised by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development themed “Housing the Future: Affordable Housing for Economic Growth, Climate Resilience, and Urban Development.

In his opening remarks, the director planning, research and statistics of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Mohammed Bala Saulawa, emphasised that building collapse is a major concern in the country saying drastic action should be taken by all stakeholders to address the problem.

“If we value lives, then we must address the issue of building safety and collapse prevention. We witnessed incidents of terrible buildings collapse in Jos, Lagos, and Abuja in recent time resulting from poor adherence to building standards and use of substandard materials.

“To tackle this issue, the Minister of Housing has established a committee to investigate building collapses. Also, Housing Tribunal was recently inaugurated to mete out sanctions and set mechanisms to ensure standards are upheld. The government expects full cooperation from agencies and institutions to implement policy decisions.”, he said.

Also speaking, the Gombe State commissioner for works, housing and transportation, Maijama’a Kallah, assured that the meeting would facilitate affordable housing for Nigerians across all states.

He also reiterated commitment of Gombe State to ensure standards are maintained in building works and are aligned with specifications in order to safeguard people’s lives.