The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has ordered the site of a five-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday to be completely sealed off. This tragic incident happened along Odili Road in Port Harcourt, resulting in one death and several injuries.
Governor Fubara visited the site on Thursday afternoon. He wanted to see the situation for himself and stated that the location will remain sealed until the government finds out what caused the collapse.
In a statement from his Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi, Fubara called the incident unfortunate. He noted that early investigations showed the developer had ignored requests for inspections by state authorities and did not follow the necessary building rules.
During his site inspection, Fubara was joined by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Amairigha Edward Hart, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Special Duties, Dabite Sokari George. He explained that he could not visit on Wednesday because he was waiting for a formal report from the relevant government agency.
Fubara said, "We’re here to see for ourselves the very unfortunate incident that took place here.
"I didn’t come yesterday because I wanted to get the report first, and the commissioner did brief me that the incident site, first, is not as claimed by the developer; that it’s not under the jurisdiction of the state; that it’s under the jurisdiction of the Federal Housing Authority.
"He also informed me that when the project was ongoing, they came here several times to inspect what was happening and also to see the level of compliance, but unfortunately, the developer kept claiming that we don’t have any right to interfere."
Fubara emphasized that the issue is no longer about interference but about the life lost due to the building collapse. He expressed concern for the family of the deceased.
The governor extended his condolences to the victims' families. He believes the incident could have been avoided if the developer had followed the rules for building and engineering in today's world.
Fubara said, "We feel sorry and very regretful that such an incident should be happening in the 21st century. In the 21st century, because technology has advanced, engineering has developed.
"I wonder what kind of engineer would even allow this kind of project to go on when everything about it, from inception, has been faulty.
"I think that at this point, nothing is going to happen on this site any more. We are going to make sure that this place is completely sealed off until we get to the root cause of this incident."
Meanwhile, the evacuation at the construction site was put on hold as all five excavators were turned off around 4:30pm on Thursday. Despite the efforts made, no additional rescues have been successful, and there is still a lot of rubble to clear.
Many youths and residents in the area, as well as scavengers, have been seen at the site, cutting rods from the building for sale.
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