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The Building Collapse Prevention Guild has blamed use of non-professionals, substandard materials and other factors among others as the causes of the collapse of a seven-storey building in Banana Island, Lagos State.
The body made up of professionals in the building and construction sector, stated this in its report following an on-site assessment of the collapsed building.
According to the report, the building collapse of April 12, 2023 brought the total number of collapsed buildings in Lagos State to 326 between 1974 to 2023.
The report also indicated that Lagos State alone has accounted for 59 per cent of building collapse cases in the country in the last 50 years.
Further explaining the causes of the collapse, the guild said the non-involvement of qualified and experienced building professionals might have led to the collapse of the structure.
The guild disclosed that it discovered that a project board was not displayed on the site to show the nature of the construction, the names of the client, architect and engineer handling the project.
It added that the sizes of the columns used could not support the number of floors embarked upon by the developer
Other factors identified by the guild include use of inferior construction materials and possible foundation failure.
According to the body, there was also conflict as to a number of floors specified in the construction drawing, which was yet to get approval as of the time of the collapse.
The report read in part, “It seems that it is only in Nigeria that the practice of building engineering services is thrown to all and sundry and the consequences of the absence of effective control mechanism are the menace of incessant building collapse in the country.
“While the BCPG highlights the above possible causes of the seven-story building collapse at Banana Island, it throws its weight behind the action of the Lagos State Government for an immediate investigation into the collapse of the building and BCPG being an independent body of qualified professionals highly recommends that at least three members of the BCPG be part of the investigation committee set up by the state.
“The BCPG also supports the suspension of all on-going construction works on Banana Islandtoenable thorough investigation of the structural stability of the buildings through forensic tests and prevent recurrent collapse of buildings.
“BCPG recommended that the process of auditing of on-going construction work should be completed within four weeks in collaboration with the owners and developers of the buildings.
“For the benefits of research, and the share of knowledge among the professionals in the building industry, the State Government should make the result of the investigation known to the members of the public and the professionals.”
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