Vandals invade Second Niger Bridge as FG orders surveillance

 

.Halt building collapse now, perm sec tells COREN.

As Lagos partners private sector to tackle building collapse

 

by AKOR SYLVESTER -Abuja

There are strong indications Some road fittings installed on the newly commissioned Second Niger bridge have been stolen by vandals

In response, the Federal Government has ordered security personnel to begin surveillance patrols on the bridge and surroundings to prevent a recurrence.

 

A source in the works ministry confirmed the theft on Wednesday, reporting that the expansion joint walkway on axis 330 of the bridge had been stolen.

 

The source said, “Unfortunately, It’s true. The stolen fitting is an element from the expansion joints of the bridge. Drivers on that road have to be careful as the damaged part can cause discomfort to motorists.”

 

Another source who spoke to our correspondent corroborated the report, adding that supervising engineers are not happy about the incident.

 

Giving further details, the Director. Highway, Bridges and Designs, Omotayo Awosanya, stated that the incident happened a week ago on the Onitsha side of the bridge.

 

He said, “The expansion Joint at the median walkway of the bridge at Axis 330 on the Onitsha side of the bridge was stolen on the night of Wednesday 5th July 2023. Only one side was removed.

 

 

 

In addition, he noted that there would be no implications for the vehicles using the road since the expansion joints are intact on the carriageways.

 

Recall that on May 23, the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, commissioned the N336 billion bridge, via an online platform, Zoom alongside seven other infrastructural projects.

 

The former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, announced the completion of the bridge at a briefing in October 2022 after almost five decades of failed promises by successive administrations.

 

On December 15, 2022, the Federal Government also opened the Second Niger Bridge for use to ease traffic in the South-East during the festive season.

 

The Second Niger Bridge was first proposed during the 1978/79 political campaign by then-candidate Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria.

 

Patterned after the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, the 1.6 kilometers long bridge linking Anambra and Delta states is to decongest traffic on the existing Niger Bridge, boost economic activities, and connect the South-East with the rest of the country.

 

However, the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mahmuda Mamman has charged the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria ( COREN ) to strategize and ensure a halt to incessant building collapse  in Nigeria.

 

Mamman stated this during a courtesy visit of  members of the council led by its Registrar , Adisa Bello to the Ministry’s  office in Abuja.

 

He said that , COREN being a federal government recognized regulatory body is vested with the elaborate Mandate and Powers to check and control building standards in Nigeria.

 

The permanent secretary opined that there should be no more cases of building collapse which he frowned at and termed it a bad situation that must be brought to a stop.

 

He said there seemed to be a disconnect somewhere between Nigerian Engineers and COREN , and that COREN as a matter of urgency proffer an urgent solution to the situation.

 

Mamman also advised that all Regulators in the Engineering body should come together and seek audience with the Ministry of Finance especially as regards the recent federal government policy directive of self funding for all such bodies .

 

He further spoke to the idea of the consideration of levies as a way of generating revenues to assist the council and charged the council to come up with implementable plans and guide lines by going back to the drawing board for them to be able to reposition COREN for better performance and impactful services to Nigerians.

 

Mamman appreciated the visit which he said was very fruitful and he is better informed now than before on the activities of COREN  , while also directing that proper checks and registration along side mandatory monitoring be carried out on construction activities that will  end up in Nigerians living in well built solid buildings with confidence without any fear of building collapse , come rain, come sun shine nation wide in Nigeria.

 

Earlier , the Registrar of COREN , Engr. Adisa Bello, said they were in the Ministry to brief the Perm.Sec on the activities of the Council for the Regulations of Engineering  in Nigeria .

 

The Registrar said COREN is a statutory regulatory organ of the Federal Government of Nigeria , established by Decree No. 55 of 1970 amended by Degree No. 27 of 1992 , now Engineers ( Registration )

 

He also confirmed that by the promulgation of Decree 27 of 1992 , COREN was merely a Registration body of Engineers , and it was then known as Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria . How ever with the expansion of its functions in 1992 , which now includes Regulation and Control of the Engineering Family , COREN’s name was changed to what it is now,  but still retaining the acronym , COREN .

 

The registrar explained that smongst COREN ‘s mandate were: to :

regulate and control Engineering practice in Nigeria with all its aspects  and ramifications,, ensure that Engineering is practiced by industry , government and professionals according to acceptable and prescribed standards and abiding by the ethics and cannons of the profession.

 

Others were ensuring that only registered Engineers head engineering departments and  units, ensuring that without proper registration with COREN , engineering practitioners do not progress or function beyond legally prescribed levels among other key mandates of COREN.

 

.Lagos partners private sector to tackle building collapse

 

Meanwhile, ,In a bid to rid Lagos State of building collapse, the state government has partnered with private sector professionals to ensure effective monitoring and control.

 

A statement signed by the Deputy-Director of Public Affairs at the state Ministry of Physical Planning said the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluwole Sotire disclosed this during a stakeholder meeting with professionals in the built environment

 

The Certified Accreditor Programme would be a consulting firm or a consortium made up of registered consultants made up of professional builders, architects, town planners, geoscientists, and engineers.

 

The programme is designed to enable the state to engage private sector professionals as stakeholders in regulating the built environment. These partners would be known as Certified Accreditors.The Permanent Secretary said that the initiatives — the Certified Accreditor Programme and the Certificate of Structural Integrity Programme, were borne out of recommendations to involve tested and trusted private professionals in the regulatory process in the industry.Sotire stated that the state government had embraced the participatory approach in coming up with these initiatives as the engagement with professionals in the built environment was coming on the heels of similar meetings with leaders of the professional bodies and other stakeholders.

 

He expressed confidence that the involvement of private professionals in building approval and regulatory processes would birth a new dawn of efficiency, and reduce incidents of building collapse significantly.

The General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki urged professionals in the built environment to embrace the initiatives as a collaborative measure to broaden participation and protect the sanctity of the built environment sector of Lagos State.

 

He added that both professionals and the entire state had a lot to gain from taking ownership of the initiatives, among which is re-instilling confidence in the system and enhancing the sustainability of the built environment.

 

Others who spoke at the event include the General Manager, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority,  LASPPPA,  Kehinde Osinaike, former Senior Special Assistant to the Commissioner on Physical Planning,  Dokun Roberts, and the Consultant to the Ministry on CAP, Aileme Unuigbe