Building Collapse: Agency To Begin Blocks Certification

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria says it will soon commence a certification exercise for blocks, sands and buildings material dealers to check the increasing cases of building collapse.

The director general of SON, Mr Joseph Odumodu told reporters on Monday that the organisation will ensure that over the next 90 days, all cement bags to be sold in the Nigeria’s market must carry additional information of date of manufacture and expiry date which must not exceed six months.

Mr Odumodu said that the rules had become necessary, as it would help check the spate of building collapse in Nigeria.

He said the Federal Government was bothered that previous efforts to check building collapse had not yielded much which underscores the need for a review of cement quality in Nigeria.

In the month of June, two buildings collapsed in Anambra State, prompting the State governor, Mr Willie Obiano, to stop all storey building constructions until proper certification from Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, COREN, is obtained.

The directive came after a four storey building at Udi Street, Fegge, in Onitsha South Local Government Area collapsed, the second in less than three weeks after the first collapsed at Odoakpu Onitsha, killing four people.

The first four storey building collapsed on June 2 in the premises of St. Christopher Anglican Church. The building was still under construction and those killed were workers on site. It was indeed a sad day for many including a young man who lost an in-law in the incident.

In an attempt to bring an end to building collapse in the state, Governor Obiano launched a Building and Civil Engineering Material Quality Control Laboratory, known as Anambra State Materials Testing Laboratory.