President Bola Tinubu has emphasized the dangers posed by illegal mining activities within residential areas, highlighting their threat to the structural stability of buildings. This warning comes in the wake of reports from the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) detailing 22 building collapses in the country between January and July 2024.
According to COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, Lagos accounted for the highest percentage of these collapses, at 27.27%, followed by Abuja and Anambra with 18.18% each. Ekiti and Plateau each had 9.09%, while Kano, Taraba, and Niger states each accounted for 4.55%.
From 2012 to date, over 91 buildings have collapsed in Lagos alone, resulting in more than 354 deaths. In Abuja, about 30 buildings have collapsed since 1993, causing over 64 deaths. Recent collapses include incidents in Onitsha, Anambra state, where a collapse occurred on June 12, and in Plateau state on July 13, where 22 students died and 134 were injured.
Prof. Abubakar attributed these collapses to factors such as the use of substandard construction materials, structural failures, illegal modifications, quackery, inadequate supervision, and corrupt practices. He commended state governments for constituting panels of enquiry to investigate these incidents and urged for a collaborative approach among all stakeholders to prevent future occurrences.
In response to the crisis, COREN has implemented several measures, including training and licensing Engineering Regulation Monitoring (ERM) inspectors, reconstituting its Council Committee on Engineering Regulation Monitoring, and establishing regional ERM&E Task Forces in cities such as Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano, FCT, Gombe, and Lagos.
President Tinubu thanked the outgoing Head of Service, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, for her service and urged the incoming Head of Service, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, to uphold high standards of integrity and adherence to regulations in her new role.