The Nigerian Institute of Architect (NIA) has blamed the Anambra State government for the numerous cases of building collapse in the state, saying that more incidents may happen until the state government implements recommendations made by the group in a white paper.
State chairman of the group, Arc Osita Okafor, who addressed a press conference in Awka after an emergency meeting of the institute, expressed displeasure that despite a white paper produced by a state panel of enquiry on collapsed buildings in the state in 2014, the state government was yet to begin implementations.
The group frowned at the recent inauguration of a 10-man panel of enquiry into the recent cases of building collapse in Onitsha, in which some six persons had lost their lives.
Okafor said, “We are taken aback by the news of the inauguration of the panel without implementation of the recommendations of a former panel set up by the same government on 9th June 2014.
“The building industry is regulated, and we know that there are defined roles for various professions. It is therefore unconventional and unacceptable that non-architects now assume the role of architects.
“We, therefore, use this opportunity to draw government’s attention to the implementation of an already published white paper report on building collapse in October 13, 2014. That white paper stressed the need to establish a one-stop approval process. By these process, all relevant professionals in the building industry vet drawings, /documents submitted for approval.
“Finally, the NIA frowns at a panel to investigate and deal with a serious matter as grievous as building collapse, and the architects, who are the prime consultants in the building projects all over the world are excluded from the panel.”
The group said that with such constitution of a panel, and non implementation of the previous panel’s report, the issue of collapsed buildings may not abate soon in the state.
It charged the Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano to take a dispassionate look at the posers raised by the group with a view to correcting them to ensure that building collapse was checked once and for all in the state.
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