Hot SourceEmmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development yesterday set up a 21-man National Building Code Advisory Committee (NBCAC), in its bid to end the several challenges in the sector, including incessant cases of building collapse and quackery.
Inaugurating the committee in Abuja, the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Ata, stressed that by setting up the body, the government was demonstrating its determination to ensure that every Nigerian home, office, school, hospital, and place of assembly is built to specifications that guarantee safety, durability, and sustainability.
The National Building Code sets minimum standards on pre-design, design, construction, and post-construction stages, thereby ensuring quality, safety, and proficiency in the building industry.
After years of inactivity, Ata stated that the ministry was reconstituting the important Committee that is very critical to fixing and arresting the ‘embarrassing’ problem of building collapse and other current issues besetting the sector.
He said: “The need to evolve a National Building Code arose from the following existing conditions of our cities and environment: The absence of planning of our towns and cities; incessant and collapse of buildings, fire infernos, built environment abuse and other disasters.
“(Also) the dearth of referenced design standards for professionals; use of non-professionals and quacks; use of untested products and materials and lack of maintenance culture.”
In view of the above, he said the National Council on Housing and Urban Development deemed it necessary and initiated the process of evolving a National Building Code to put a stop to the ugly trends in the building industry.
Members of BCAC cut across architecture, building, engineering, urban and regional planning, estate surveying and valuation, quantity surveying, and land surveying. They also comprised representatives of key institutions: Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Fire Service, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Ministry of Housing, which also provides the secretariat of the committee.
In addition, there were representatives from relevant Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and six state representatives from across the six geopolitical zones, appointed on a rotational basis.
“You must take this assignment with the highest sense of duty and urgency. The Committee shall provide quarterly reports to the ministry, detailing progress, challenges, and recommendations. You must ensure that your work leads to visible results and that the impact of the Code’s implementation is felt nationwide,” the minister added.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Shuaib Belgore, said the inauguration was pursuant to the resolution of the 13th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development (NCLHUD).
According to him, the inauguration further reflected the commitment of the Minister of Housing, Ahmed Dangiwa, to ensure that the ministry’s mandate of providing affordable shelter to Nigerians is pursued without compromising safety, quality, and sustainability.
Members of the NBCAC are: Jimoh Faworaja (Chairman); Matthias Kastuda (Secretary); Prof. Austine Uche; Samson Opaluwah; Kabir Yari; Adefila Kolawole; Akinpelu Adewunmi,” among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of the committee, Faworaja, pledged to, alongside members of his team, pursue the mandate handed down to the group diligently in the interest of Nigeria.
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