…Orders arrest of site engineer
The collapsed building
As a sequel to the collapse of a three-storey building under construction in the Nkaliki area of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State today (Wednesday), the state governor, Chief Dave Umahi has announced the indefinite suspension of members of the Abakaliki Capital Territory Development Board chaired by Dr Uche Onwe.
In a statement issued by the Secretary to the Ebonyi State Government, Dr Kenneth Ugbala, the indefinite suspension of the board was said to take immediate effect.
The statement noted that the suspension was as result of the failure of the board to supervise buildings within the Capital City which led to the collapse of the three (3) storey structure.
Ugbala said his office would soon announce a new taskforce on building approval, construction and supervision. According to him, the taskforce shall be responsible for approving buildings, construction and supervision of all sites within the capital city.
The release asked the suspended members of Abakaliki Capital Territory Development Board to handover all government property in their possession to the Special Assistant to Governor on the Capital City before the close of work on today Wednesday, July 22, 2020.
No life was lost as the collapse of the building occurred when the site workers were yet to resume work for the day. But residents around the area scampered for safety as the building shook and collapsed.
Meanwhile, the state government has ordered the arrest of the site engineer handling the project following the discovery that materials used in the building were sub-standard.
The order followed a visit to the site by the Secretary to the State Government in the company of the Commissioner for Internal Security, Stanley Emegha and Special Assistant to the Governor on Capital Territory, Chinyelu Udoku.
While Emegha ordered the arrest of the engineer, Ugbala on his part directed the immediate sealing of the site as well as the complete demolition of the remaining structure.
Udoku on her part asked the Capital Territory Development Board to produce the names of those that approved the building and all those in charge of monitoring the construction.
Chairman of the Abakaliki Capital Territory Development Board, Dr Uche Onwe confirmed that preliminary investigation showed the builders used substandard materials, which exposed the building to lots of structural defects.
“From our findings, preliminary findings anyway, the engineer attached to the building did not do any professional work. The quality of iron rods, the mixture, concreting are not up to standard. There’s no way this building would not have collapsed. We shall however do more investigations,” he said.
