Wike Seals Gudu Building Collapse Site, Advocates Supervision For Developers

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate sealing of a building collapse site in Gudu, Abuja, following a tragic incident that claimed four lives and left several others injured.

The Minister also directed the arrest of the developer and site engineers connected to the project, while announcing that government would take over the premises pending investigation.

Wike who gave the directive after receiving preliminary reports on the incident during an inspection to the site, described the development as unfortunate.

He maintained that developers must allow relevant government agencies to properly supervise all stages of construction projects to prevent disasters of such magnitude.

Wike reiterated the importance of quality control and strict compliance with building regulations in the Federal Capital Territory.

He emphasized that proper soil tests, quality materials and adherence to approved building standards remained critical in avoiding structural failures.

The Minister lamented that lives lost in such incidents could never be replaced, insisting that the responsibility of government was to ensure the safety of residents through effective regulation and monitoring.

Wike expressed deep concern over the loss of lives, stressing that government would not compromise on the protection of lives and property in the territory.

The Minister then assured that the FCT Administration would set up a panel to futher investigate the immediate and remote causes of the collapse, and assured residents that anyone found culpable would be held accountable.

“From the report I got, we lost not less than four persons and some lives were saved. It is very pathetic, very pathetic. Nobody is happy when you lose somebody.”

“Again, it is what I would always say: developers should allow the government to thoroughly supervise whatever construction is going on. Nobody will want to make a policy that will retard development…when you are constructing buildings of this nature, the lives of the people are very, very important.” Wike noted

According to the Minister, the Department of Development Control had already sealed the premises, one of the engineers connected to the project arrested, and the developer to be also apprehended for questioning.

He noted that government would rely on the outcome of the investigative panel before making further pronouncements on the actual cause of the incident.

“The Department of Development Control has sealed off the premises. We are going to set up a panel to really look at what happened. And one of the engineers has been arrested. The Department of Development Control will be able to do their preliminary investigation of what was responsible.” Wike said.

“But by and large, we have always tried to let developers allow the staff of the FCDA to carry out their job,” Wike added. “But look at these lives, can you buy back these lives? They are gone.”

“It is the responsibility of government to protect lives and property. Those who have died, you can never see them again. So that’s why we are serious that in construction of buildings, we must know the quality. What materials are they using?What is the result of the soil test?” wike said.

On his part, the director of the Department of Development Control, Mr Bashir Madaki Sanusi, attributed the collapse to hidden structural weaknesses linked to the nature of the soil and a buried local well discovered beneath part of the building.

He explained that integrity tests carried out by consultants revealed that the area was made up of dredged waterways and unstable soil formations, which were not initially visible during construction.

“We issued a consultant to carry out an integrity test on the structure and the results indicated that this soil is made up from dredged waterways over the years,” Sanusi explained.

“And there is a local well that is here filled up with debris and clay, which was not visible to the developer.So column C and D were placed on the pit and the length of the column was 1.5, the depth of the well was two meters, so that shortage created the collapse.”

Sanusi maintained that the project had received the necessary approvals and had undergone routine monitoring by officials of the Development Control Department.

He noted that soil tests conducted before approval did not reveal any dangerous variations or negative indicators.

He added that government officials supervised the project from foundation level to the stage where the collapse occurred, insisting that the incident resulted from the hidden pit beneath the structure.

The Minister had earlier inspected ongoing road projects in Gwarinpa, Jahi and the Abuja city centre expected to be inaugurated between May and June, where he expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of work executed by contractors handling the various projects across the Federal Capital Territory.

Remi Johnson Edited By Grace Namiji