The federal government has urged building and construction sector stakeholders to find lasting solutions to incessant building collapses across the country.

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh, gave the charge on Tuesday in Abuja at the National Conference on the Building/Construction sector.

Nigeria has recorded several cases of building collapse in recent times.

The Building Collapse Prevention Guild said Lagos State recorded the highest cases, with more than 351 buildings caving in the last 50 years. The report showed that the 351 collapsed buildings in Lagos represented 55.28 per cent of the total of 635 recorded cases across the country during this period.

Mr Enoh reiterated the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s led administration to the security of lives and property of citizens.

“Putting a stop to the unending incidents of building and construction collapses is paramount and I believe adhering to strictly agreed standard practices will be a contribution to the priority of the administration.

“I look forward to very robust engagements and discussions, and hope that the outcome of this will be very enabling and very useful to getting this sector, the building and construction sector, right,” stated the minister.

SON’s director-general, Ifeanyi Okeke, decried the non-awareness of industry stakeholders regarding the standards required for safe, durable, and sustainable buildings despite sensitisation.

He expressed SON’s commitment to promoting safe practices to ensure quality and sustainable development via its initiatives.

Meanwhile, the president of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Sadiq Abubakar, emphasised the importance of standards in building construction.

“The building industry is peculiar in the sense that there are codes and standards that govern activities from design to completion of projects. The efforts of the SON in the development/domestication of codes and standards in collaboration with stakeholders must not go unnoticed, but we need to do more.

“Nigeria is situated in sub-Saharan Africa with its inherent weather conditions different from that of the temperate and other regions, hence the need for local codes and standards that address these peculiarities,” he said.

He urged using initiatives such as the Nigerian Industrial Standards that covered building materials such as cement, glass, steel, and blocks.

The COREN president said there was nothing wrong with adapting foreign codes and standards, such as the British Standards and Eurocodes. He, however, said that adaptation was needed to address the local conditions and peculiarities in the country.

According to Mr Abubakar, adherence to standard practice requires a robust monitoring framework, effective regulation and diligent enforcement where necessary.

(NAN)