The Nigerian Institute of Builders, NIOB, has raised the alarm that the jobs of qualified builders in Abia State are being taken over by quacks, alleging that charlatans now handle about 90 out of 100 housing projects in the state.
The alarm was raised in Umuahia on Monday by the leadership and members of the NIOB, who addressed journalists at the NUJ Press Centre.
The builders, who blamed the patronage of unqualified personnel for the frequent building collapses in the state, called on the relevant authorities to adopt the Building Code developed by NIOB.
Led by the Chairman of the Abia State chapter of NIOB, Chinedu Nwanosike, the Practice Committee Chairman, Wisdom Okoro, the National Registrar, John Ugwoeri, and other senior members, the builders alleged that most of those parading as site engineers at construction sites in Abia are neither registered nor qualified.
They expressed concern that two separate building collapses had been recorded at the Low Cost Housing Estate, Umuahia, and the World Bank Housing Estate, Aba, within eight days, stressing that such incidents would not have occurred if proper procedures had been followed.
“If you count 100 buildings here, you can find out that the buildings that were handled by qualified builders are not more than 10,” said Chinedu Nwanosike, the Abia State NIOB chairman.
They further demanded that the duties of the Town Planning Authority in Abia State should not stop at granting building approval but should include strict supervision, particularly the use of qualified builders.
They concluded by urging Abia residents to avoid quacks and to engage the services of registered and qualified builders for the safety of both occupants and businesses.
