By: Felix Ikpotor
Following the collapse of a building at Alakahia near the University of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State House of Assembly, RVHA, has ordered the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning to arrest and prosecute the owner of the collapsed building and the institution that submitted the building plans for approval.
The lawmakers made the declaration on Wednesday when members of the House Committee on Urban and Housing visited the site of the building and suggested that the premises should be confiscated to serve as deterrent to other building defaulters in the state.
Chairman of the committee, Hon Deeyah Barieene, said the lawmakers have discovered that the builder and owner of the property obtained a building plan approval from the ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning to construct a bungalow at Rumuepirikom and not for a three story building at Alakahia, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area
He described the actions of the builder and owner of the property as fraudulent and breach of content, said both the builder and the engineer should be arrested immediately and be prosecuted by the police and ordered the ministry to urgently demolish the remaining parts of the ill fated structure.
The lawmaker enjoined the ministry to always embark on routine checks to avoid future occurrences in and around the state, explaining that building plans must follow specifications.
According to him, the ministry must ensure that all high rising building under construction should not accommodate or harbor the workers.
speaking earlier, the commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Hon Chinyere Igwe informed the committee that the building was not contained in the database.
he stated that the building has no plan and also has no building approval, explaining that the number on the data base was to develop a bungalow at Rumupirikom and not a story building at Alakahia.
