Nigeria approves building code
2006-08-03 14:14
Lagos - Nigeria has approved a national building code to stem a spate of building collapses, which have claimed dozens of lives in recent months, say officials.
Information minister Frank Nweke said the code was approved on Wednesday during a cabinet meeting presided by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said the government was worried by the spate of building collapses in the country and was prepared to stop them.
Housing minister Olusegun Mimiko said the new code would ensure the safety, efficiency and quality of buildings, and structures in the country.
Building regulations
Building experts had blamed the collapses in Nigeria on the use of substandard construction materials, disregard for building regulations and non-compliance with development policies.
Last month, a four-storey residential building caved in suddenly in the commercial capital, Lagos, killing 25 and leaving 50 survivors to be pulled out of the rubble.
Authorities launched an investigation into the cause of the tragedy, the latest in a string of such disasters to have struck Africa's most populous country in recent months, a number of them in overcrowded Lagos.
The Nigerian Institute of Building said 84 buildings had collapsed in the past 20 years in Nigeria, claiming more than 400 lives.
It said that the actual number of collapses could be higher since the figure was based only on reported cases.