By Mimidoo Patrick
Conference on building collapse jointly organised by Viewpoint Housing News and Daily Trust newspaper will hold on April 7 and 8, 2020 at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja.
The CEO of Viewpoint Housing Media Ltd, publisher of Viewpoint Housing News, Mal Ahmed Goringo who announced this yesterday said the conference with theme, Building Collapse: A National Disaster Too Long will be chaired by the Executive Chairman of Urban Shelter Ltd, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu and the minister of Works and Housing Mr Babatunde Fashola is Special Guest of Honour.
Similarly, Head of Business Development, Media Trust Ltd, publisher of Daily Trust, Mr AbdulRahman Husseini explained that five speakers will dwell on burning issues in the construction industry.
The President, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Mr Ali Alimasuya Rabiu will look at Identifying Culprits in Collapsed Buildings; the president of Nigerian Society of Engineers Babagana Mohammed will speak on Professional Misconduct and Quackery in Construction; the Managing Director of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) Mr Ahmed Dangiwa will speak on Strengthening the Mortgage System in Nigeria for Affordable Housing; while the president of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) Mr Aliyu Wamako dwells on Provision of Standard Housing under a Distressed Economy.
Husseini who expressed optimism that the conference will tackle the rising incidence of building collapse in Nigeria said his company is concerned about the incessant cases of building collapse across Nigerian cities.
“As a responsible corporate, we’re concerned. We believe that at the end of the meeting, incidents of building collapse will become a thing of the past,” Husseini said.
Similarly, the CEO of Viewpoint Housing Media Ltd described the numerous incidents of building collapse as a national disgrace, stressing that it is time stakeholders came together to end the phenomenon.
It is expected that key players in the construction sector from public and private sectors like facility managers, Federal Ministries of Works and Housing and Environment, SON, FMBN, QSRBN, FHA, Federal Fire Service, REDAN, NIA, NIQS, NSE, NIOB, NBRRI, , producers of building materials and others will be at the gathering.
Checks by our reporter show that one of the issues that will feature prominently at the conference is failure to punish those culpable for the numerous reported cases of building collapse in Nigeria.
Viewpoint Housing News reports that over the last few years, Nigeria recorded numerous cases of building failure.
Between 2018 and 2019 alone, it was said that 40 cases of building collapse were recorded.
At least 103 people died while 265 sustained injuries from 58 building collapse incidents in the last two years.
Many structural failures occur yearly that are hardly reported because there are yet no up-to-date official statistics on building collapse in the country.
There will be exhibitions by developers and producers/suppliers of building materials.
