The Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) has initiated an all-inclusive strategy that involves collaboration with stakeholders in the built environment to effectively enforce laws toward addressing the recurring challenge of building collapse in the country. This includes includes sanctioning erring builders.
Chairman of CORBON, Bldr. Dr. Samson Opaluwah who made this known in a statement made available to THE TRUTH, and which had been published in pages 22 and 17 of Daily Trust and The Punch newspapers (respectively) of Friday September 9, 2022, titled “PRESS STATEMENT BY THE COUNCIL OF REGISTERED BUILDERS OF NIGERIA (CORBON) ON BUILDING COLLAPSES ACROSS NIGERIA,” announced that the Council will invoke its constitutional regulatory powers to punish individuals and corporate entities whose action or inaction has led to building collapse and the accompanying loss of lives and property.
“A CORBON tribunal shall sanction any erring builder found guilty of unwholesome professional practice,” the Council warned.
While stating that “the Council is immensely saddened by building collapses across the country and sympathizes with the relations of the deceased and prays for God’s consolation as they live with the painful loss,” the Council lamented that “each time a building collapses, it diminishes our dignity as a country and embarrasses all relevant stakeholders in the built environment.”
The Council empathized that “the recent building collapses, like in the past, resulted in human and economic losses,” stating that “CORBON has always been concerned with the processes associated with the procurement and production of buildings in Nigeria.”
Opaluwah, who is a Fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and also a Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Building, expressed concern that the delivery of many building projects in the country is bereft of professionalism, stating that “regulations are compromised at will, and defaulters are seldom sanctioned.”
He said the recent building collapses – twice in Lagos within a week, Kano and Abuja – remind us that quackery is the norm in the construction sector.
The statement further said: “The Council is again reaching out to all stakeholders in the built environment for synergy towards sustainable solutions for this recurrent problem.”
“We need to urgently develop strategies for effective enforcement of existing laws intended to regulate the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of buildings across the Country.”
“The public is invited to note that the Builder registered and licensed by CORBON is the only professional recognised by the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to manage the construction of buildings. Building project owners are always advised to validate such licenses by the Council and insist that the Builder produces their structures according to the approved provisions; project quality management plan, project health, safety plan, construction programme, and construction methodology.
He said the documents commit the builder to the following assurances: Adherence to production design and specifications at the first attempt, protection of workers and the public from hazards that may arise due to production activities and efficient management of production resources.
The documents also commit the builder to adherence to statutory requirements for the development of buildings that are necessary during production activities and adherence to tests, inspections, quality certifications among other necessities as may be required for a project.
