The Federal Government on Tuesday introduced a new national building code as a strategic policy measure aimed at a more efficient regulation and safeguarding lives and property in the construction industry.
The Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who announced the new measure while inaugurating members of the Architect Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) in Abuja, described the inauguration as historically significant since it coincided with June 12, the nation’s Democracy Day.
Describing the number of deaths and other havocs that had been associated with wrong plans for buildings and other construction projects in the country as worrisome, the minister said that it had become imperative for government to adopt deliberate measures to prevent such avoidable loss of lives and property, hence the new code.
He said: “We have come up with the new code because government is aware of the fact that most deaths and injuries caused during building collapse are results of unacceptable ways of building. You can find out that in most cases safety measures are not considered in erecting most of the failed structures.”
According to him, the Council was set up to determine the standard of educational qualifications of members and regulate the activities of architects in the building and construction industry and urged its new members to consider their appointment as a call to national service.
Fashola restated government’s commitment to improve the nation’s infrastructure assets and therefore needed the support of all stakeholders in the construction industry to achieve the objective.
Fashola advised the members to observe professional ethics in the discharge of their responsibilities since their inauguration was coming at a time the government initiated a national housing programme.
The minister hinted that with the implementation of the new code, builders and others involved in housing projects would be required to design their projects in a way that will guarantee public safety.
