A shocked Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has attributed the collapse of an eight-storey hotel building under construction to carelessness and the use of poor quality materials.
The Governor spoke during his visit on Friday. The building collapsed on Thursday, April 30, 2020 at Yar’Adua Drive in Owerri. He promised full investigation.
Expressing his displeasure at the avoidable incident, Governor Uzodimma warned that under no circumstance should any such structure be erected without appropriate approval, monitoring and supervision by the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA) and all other agencies charged with such responsibility.
He noted that the building suffered avoidable structural defects coupled with sub-standard building materials used in the construction by the engineers, which everyone can see.
He noted: “This is a very sad event. Construction work was going on against the directive for total lockdown. It’s also a very serious violation. TO now hear that the requisite approvals were not adhered to, is yet another carelessness.”
The Governor prayed for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives and assured that the government will do everything possible to ensure that such level of carelessness does not repeat itself in the future. He added that he will make sure those behind the ugly incident are made to face the full weight of the law when investigations are concluded.
Earlier, the General Manager, Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), Mr. Innocent Ikpamezie informed that a few weeks before the collapse, inquiries on the construction papers and details of approvals made to the developers were not supplied to OCDA on demand, which led to the shifting of the date of inspection to Tuesday, May 5, 2020 before the collapse. They were not provided.
As at Friday afternoon, 15 people have been confirmed dead. Rescue operations are still going on. It is doubtful if anybody would still be pulled out alive.
