40-year-old collapsed uncompleted building sealed off by Anambra govt

An uncompleted one-storey building at Umuota village, Obosi in Idemili North Council Area of Anambra State, which collapsed over the weekend, has been sealed off by the Anambra State government.

The incident had resulted in the death of a couple and injuries to their baby, on Sunday evening.

This disclosure was made by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Anambra State Physical Planning Board, Barr. Chike Maduekwe during his inspection visit to the site on Monday.

It was learnt that the couple were squatting in the building, having taken advantage of the fact that the building was abandoned for many years and converted it to their residence.

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According to Maduekwe, the government will immediately bring down the building completely so that people will no longer squat there.

He also observed that the uncompleted building had been there for more than 40 years.

“The local authority of the State Physical Planning Board in Idemili North has sealed off the building. We also gathered that the building was over forty years old and had remained uncompleted since then.

“The partial collapse had affected one section of the building and we have invited the owner and the caretaker to our office in Awka. After our meeting with them, we will pull the remaining section down,” Maduekwe said.

He urged developers to always ensure that they do not abandon their projects for a long time to avoid a recurrence of such disaster and to always obtain building permits before construction.

By Emmanuella Ibe…

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