Builders in Abia want fake site engineers arrested over rising building collapses across the state.
They say only certified builders are legally allowed to manage construction work on-site.
The Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) and the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Abia State chapter, have urged the government to arrest and prosecute individuals falsely presenting themselves as site engineers.
The call was made on Monday in Umuahia during a press briefing addressing the rising cases of building collapses across the state.
Speaking at the event, Mr Wisdom Okoro, Chairman of the State Practice Committee of CORBON, blamed the recurring structural failures on poor enforcement of existing regulations.
He explained that under Nigerian laws and professional codes, only registered builders are legally permitted to oversee construction activities on-site.
“It is wrong for anyone to parade themselves as a site engineer,” Okoro stated. “Such individuals lack the legal authority to carry out building works. The law clearly states that construction processes are the exclusive responsibility of a certified builder.”
He emphasized that while engineers may contribute to specific areas of a project through inspection or supervision, they are not legally recognized as site managers.
“Our position is clear: anyone claiming to be a site engineer on a building project should face arrest and imprisonment,” he added.
Echoing the concerns, Mr Chinedu Nwanosike, Abia State Chairman of the NIOB, attributed the frequent building collapses to the involvement of unqualified individuals and the negligence of regulatory bodies.
He stressed that professional builders are defined by their formal education and licensing to practise.
“The problem is that authorities often sideline qualified builders and hand projects over to quacks,” Nwanosike said. “If you survey 100 buildings, you’ll find that fewer than 10 per cent were supervised by trained professionals.”
He called on the Abia State Government to enforce the national building code, which was adopted in 2006, and clamp down on unlicensed practitioners.
“Once quacks are removed and professionals take over, cases of building collapse will drastically reduce,” he concluded.
