Building Collapse: Ashafa urges experts/regulators collaboration

The Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Sen. Gbenga Ashafa, has called for synergy between regulators and professionals in the built environment to curb menace of building collapse in the country.

Ashafa made the call in his goodwill message during the investiture of Prof. Yohana Izam as the 21st President of Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB).

A statement made available to journalists in Lagos by FHA Spokesman, Mr Kenneth Chigelu, said the investiture held on Saturday in Abuja.

Ashafa said commitment and collaboration of all built environment professionals was important to guarantee quality assurance during building construction to avert collapses.

“Once safety standards are upheld by all concerned, it becomes difficult for fatalities in the magnitude that we have recently witnessed to occur.”

“To eliminate building collapse in Nigeria, there must exist a strong synergy between various regulatory agencies and professional institutions,” he said.

He said professional bodies like the NIOB and the Nigeria Society of Engineers have critical roles to play in building capacity of its members to global standards.

The FHA boss advised the Standards Organization of Nigeria to always ensure that building materials that are imported or produced locally meet acceptable standards.

“When building materials fail to meet regulatory standards, building collapse become inevitable,” he said.

While enumerating reasons for building collapses, Ashafa said insurance and financial institutions were being underutilized.

”The role also that financial institutions play in regulating building collapses is not being emphasized enough. Financial institutions must insist on proper insurance covers before funding major building projects.”

“Once such insurance is insisted upon, the insurance company covering the building project also makes it a priority to ensure that standards are upheld and important regulations are not flouted,” he said.

Ashafa, while urging town planners to always adopt proactive measures, said agencies like the Planning Permit Authority, must work closely with Building Control Agencies to identify structurally defective buildings for demolition.

He called on the Ministry of Environment to always insist on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in respect of public and private projects.

Ashafa cited Lagos State as example of a place where its mandatory policies required contractors to secure an EIA report before embarking on projects in the state.

He said that the legislature made laws for effective regulation of the building industry, adding that, such laws needed regular reviews for global best practices.

He congratulated the NIOB on the successful investiture of Prof. Izam who took over from Mr Kunle Awobodu to become the 21st President of the institute.

The FHA boss commended NIOB leadership for the stability in her management, and contributions to the nation’s built industry as well as quality of professionals they have been producing in the country.

“We in the Federal Housing Authority are proud of your achievements, which we can attest to by the proficiency of your members working in our organisation, and who form part of the pool of professionals FHA is known for,” he said