Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Dangiwa says the ministry will henceforth ensure the prosecution of persons responsible for building collapse in the country.

Mr Dangiwa said this during a review meeting of recommendations of the ministry’s building collapse committee and regulatory bodies.

Stating that the measure would ensure proper investigation and prosecution of culprits, he charged the committee to develop a checklist of professionals involved in the construction process.

“You must come up with a checklist of things to observe during inspection or assessment of building collapse, and there must be a column to apportion blame to who is culpable.

“The checklist must ensure quality assurance of the design, concrete quality and soil tests before the construction,” he said.

Mr Dangiwa said the checklist should also include who designed the building, certified the designer, approved the design, and supervised the construction to identify those culpable.

“Once there is a building collapse, we should immediately move there with our checklist, identify it and fill in.

“It should reveal either the design had not been done or if the professional is not certified or development control has not given approval or supervision was not done by a professional and if the building was converted to a different use,” he noted.

Mr Dangiwa said the checklist, when developed, would be presented to the National Council on Housing for all to understand and be carried along in the implementation.

He asked the regulatory bodies in the built environment to forward their submissions and inputs to the Committee on Building Collapse set up by the ministry for consideration and inclusion in the checklist.

Commenting on the committee’s recommendations, the chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Samson Opaluwah, said the committee presented 12 recommendations for consideration.

These are the reconstitution of the National Building Code Advisory Committee and the review of the acts establishing architects and builders councils. He said this would make them more effective in curbing quackery.

He said other recommendations included implementing punitive measures and sanctions for professional negligence and regulatory bodies to collaborate in the event of collapse, among others.

Many regulators advocated for the implementation of punitive measures on those found wanting to curb the menace of building collapse in the country.

(NAN)