The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, has said that building collapse has become a national embarrassment as the avoidable tragedies have led to the painful loss of innocent lives, permanent disability for survivors, and destruction of property in the country.

Dangiwa stated this during the inauguration of the Expanded Ministerial Task Team on Building Collapses in Nigeria in Abuja, explaining that as a responsible government, they cannot allow this pattern of failure to continue, causing irreparable psychological trauma for families.

He added, “The alarming frequency of building collapse incidents is not only unacceptable but a national embarrassment. We approved the establishment of a committee on building collapse to examine the root causes of the problem and propose practical and sustainable solutions.

“The committee, headed by Maji Liberty Alkali, submitted its report, which proposed 18 key recommendations. Recognising the importance of broad-based implementation, we further directed the committee to be expanded to key regulatory and professional bodies within the built industry.”

According to the minister, this is because the issue of building collapse is not the responsibility of one profession; rather, it is a deeply interconnected challenge that cuts across architecture, engineering, quantity surveying, town planning, land surveying, estate valuation, and building construction.

“In reality, building collapse is rarely the result of a single failure. It is a chain of systemic breakdowns, design flaws, substandard materials, construction methods that ignored specifications, approvals granted without proper scrutiny, and inadequate oversight during and after construction.”

He therefore hinted that the newly nominated members of the Committee are from ARCON (Architects Registration Council of Nigeria), COREN (Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria), QSRBN (Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria), and TOPREC (Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria).

Others include SURCON (Surveyors Council of Nigeria), ESVARBON (Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria), CORBON (Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria), and BCPG (Building Collapse Prevention Guild).

The minister stated that the reconstituted committee will operate under the following Terms of Reference: “To examine the eighteen approved recommendations and advise the ministry on phased and effective strategies for their implementation.

“To develop a comprehensive roadmap for addressing systemic, technical, legal, and institutional challenges associated with building collapse.

“To design a compliance checklist and framework for regulatory and professional bodies to enhance oversight, promote accountability, and ensure adherence to standards and ethics in building construction and approvals.”