A three-storey building under construction, on Sunday, collapsed in Enugu.
Though no life was lost, the
building, which is located at Ezeluike Street, Olympic Layout, off One Day, Agbani Road, Awkunanaw, in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, was said to have no building approval from the Enugu Capital Territory Development Agency, ECTDA and was consequently marked for demolition in July and November 2019.
“Unfortunately, the developer continued construction in defiance of the Stop-Work order issued by our Agency”.
A statement by the Executive Chairman of ECTDA, Dr. Josef Onoh, stated that in view of that, the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) will “immediately commence evaluation of the structural integrity and stability of all buildings within the Enugu State Capital Territory, from April 10”.
The exercise he said, will be conducted jointly by a technical team from the Agency and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Enugu State branch.
Onoh disclosed that “ECTDA shall comply with the recommendations to be made at the end of the exercise”, and “where any structure(s) fails the integrity test the developer/owner shall be given a reasonable time not exceeding 60days to commence reconstruction and ensure that the structure is fit and stable for human habitation”.
He added that “in a case where no option is available such building(s) shall be demolished rather than put the lives of the occupants in danger”.
The chairman also disclosed that rescue team from ECTDA, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), State Fire Service and Red Cross, among others, were on ground at the site of the incident for emergency operations. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
