Building collapse in Abakaliki

Building collapses in Abakaliki

A three storey building under construction at No. 26 Nibo Street, Abakaliki Ebonyi state thursday collapsed.

The second and third floor of the seven year storey building collapsed, leaving the down floor.

A resident of the area and eyewitness, Daniel Okoro said no life was lost.

He said: ''I witnessed the building collapse, it happened exactly 1 pm. We are happy that no life was lost. We are appealing to the government to pull down the down stair which did not collapse.

''It is a threat to us that live around the area. You can see how the building is surrounded by people's houses and if not the God's work, it would have collapsed on top of some of the residential buildings around here. Government should please come and remove the remaining floor before it collapses on residential houses.

''The last floor was decked and the block work completed last year. The house is almost completed, it is awaiting roofing'', he said.

While inspecting the building, the Chairman Abakaliki Capital Territory Development Board, Chief Fred Udeogu said the building did not get the approval of the board and attributed the cause of its collapse to substandard materials.

''The building did not get the approval of the board. They started the foundation and allowed it to become weak before they commenced the building proper. The materials they used are substandard and it is one of the major reasons it collapsed.

''We have sealed off the place and we are warning people to keep off. We are trying to see if we can find heavy duty machines to pull down the remaining floor which did not collapse''.

On his part, the Commissioner for Environment, Chief Ogodo Ali Nome said the Engineer and the owner of the house will be arrested.

He said henceforth, before a building is erected, it must get the approval of the Ministry.

''We have discovered that the building has over stayed. The materials used are all substandard and unfortunately we cannot find the owner, we don't know the owner.

''We can also find the Engineer handling the construction .They used 12mm and 16mm instead of 18mm and 20mm roads and constructed the building and its what caused the building collapse".

"It is the fault of the Engineer because if he had recommended better quality materials, it wouldn't have collapsed".

"We will find the owner and advise him to remove the remaining structure because as it is now, it is posing danger to the people living around the area. The best thing to do is to pull down the entire structure".

Also, a Mighty tree has feel down and collapsed a Deeper Life Bible Church along Mgbom road, Afikpo in Afikpo North local government area of the state. The incident occurred on Thursday night after a heavy down pour.

Though no life was lost, it destroyed properties worth millions of naira. The Coordinator of Afikpo North Development Centre, MrsUgo  Oko described the incident as a monumental loss. ENDS
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