The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has ordered a complete seal-off of the site of a five-storey building, which collapsed on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring several others along Odili Road in Port Harcourt.
The governor, who visited the site of the disaster on Thursday afternoon to assess the situation, said the site will remain “completely sealed off” until the government gets to the “root cause” of the incident.
Fubara, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi, sent to newsmen, described the incident as unfortunate.
He observed that preliminary investigations had shown that the developer had earlier refused to subject his site to inspection by the state authorities and comply with the necessary building regulations.
The governor, who inspected the site alongside the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Amairigha Edward Hart, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Special Duties, Dabite Sokari George, explained that he couldn’t visit the site the previous day (Wednesday) because he was awaiting a formal briefing from the relevant agency of government on the situation.
Fubara stated, “We’re here to see for ourselves the very unfortunate incident that took place here.
“I didn’t come yesterday because I wanted to get the report first, and the commissioner did brief me that the incident site, first, is not as claimed by the developer; that it’s not under the jurisdiction of the state; that it’s under the jurisdiction of the Federal Housing Authority.
“He also informed me that when the project was ongoing, they came here several times to inspect what was happening and also to see the level of compliance, but unfortunately, the developer kept claiming that we don’t have any right to interfere.”
Fubara said the issue was no longer about interference but about the life lost to the building collapse and the collateral damage brought upon the family of the deceased.
The governor, however, extended condolences to the families of the victims, insisting that the incident could have been avoided if the developer had complied with the rules guiding the engineering design and construction of such a structure in the 21st century.
“We feel sorry and very regretful that such an incident should be happening in the 21st century. In the 21st century, because technology has advanced, engineering has developed.
“I wonder what kind of engineer would even allow this kind of project to go on when everything about it, from inception, has been faulty.
“I think that at this point, nothing is going to happen on this site any more. We are going to make sure that this place is completely sealed off until we get to the root cause of this incident,” Governor Fubara stated.
Meanwhile, the evacuation process at the construction site was temporarily suspended as the engines of all five excavators were turned off at about 4:30pm on Thursday.
Despite concerted efforts, no additional rescue has been made, and there is still much rubble to be packed.
Many youths and residents in the neighbourhood, as well as scavengers, have occupied the site, cutting rods used to cast the building, obviously for sale.
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