Rivers Govt Investigates Collapsed 3-Storey Building in Obio/Akpor
Omiete Joseph
Rivers State Government has launched an investigation into the cause of a collapsed 3-storey building under construction at the Iriebe axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Evans Bipi disclosed this during an inspection of the site of the collapsed building alongside officials of Greater Port-Harcourt City Development Authority and Directors of the Ministry.
Bipi who confirmed that no lives were lost in the collapsed building which occurred in the early hours of October 29, 2024, regretted that the building has no government approval, noting that is essential for ensuring structural integrity and safety.
He attributed some likely causes of the collapsed building to include structural defect, negligence, cutting corners and use of substandard materials by the contractor.
The Commissioner also reiterated his call on property owners and developers to obtain approved building plans from the Ministry to allow for regular inspection by the Ministry and to ensure conformity with building approvals and specifications.
He said “As a government, I represent the governor in this mission and I feel so sad that people will be building without having approval.
“Well, we thank God that no life is lost, we must investigate to know the engineer, the owner of the property. We will ascertain if approval was given for the building. If they did not contravene, we know what to do. But so far investigation is ongoing, at the end the ministry will take its action”.
Pointing at the debris at the collapsed building site, Bipi said “You can see the level of substandard of the building, we have more sand than cement, which is tantamount to killing. The intention of the engineer or subcontractor is to kill people. If you know you want to construct a building, the standard must be maintained”.
He said the government would use the latest incident to make an attempt at sanitising the building industry in the State by cracking down on defaulters with a view to preventing building collapse and restoring the reputation of the industry.
Meanwhile, the site of the collapsed building has been temporarily sealed by the State Government pending the outcome of a joint investigation by the Rivers State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, and the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority.