Adebayo Adenrele
In a bid to strengthen the framework for ensuring building quality in Ekiti and Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Ekiti State Chapter has called for prosecution of offenders of building collapse, in order to serve as deterrent to others operating with negligence.
The State Chapter made the redundance after the President of the Institute, Daniel Kolade called for prosecution of individuals responsible for building collapses in Nigeria, noting that any offender, regardless of profession, should face sanctions for negligence or malpractice.
The Chairman of the State’s Chapter, Mayowa Adebiyi backed Kolade while speaking with journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday during the thanksgiving ceremony to wrap up 2026 Builders’ Day, held at RCCG, Lifegate Cathedral, Ekiti Province 4, Headquarters, Ado-Ekiti.
According to him, most building collapse cases stem from unqualified practitioners, rather than registered professionals, expressing confidence in the regulatory bodies to take action against erring professionals.
His words, “Our President has spoken and whatever he says, we all agree with it. Any offender should be brought to book. Even if the person is a professional, there are sanctions for every professional who goes against the rules.
“However, I don’t believe any professional builder would misbehave. Most of the issues usually come from quackery. Any offender should therefore be dealt with accordingly.
“And thank God, in many of the building collapse cases recorded, builders have not been involved. So, as the President has already stated, anybody involved in any building collapse should be prosecuted”.
Speaking on the significance of the thanksgiving ceremony, he said, “What we are doing today is a thanksgiving to mark the end of the Builders’ Day celebration which is an annual event. We started this programme on Tuesday and carried out a couple of activities. Today, we are ending it with a thanksgiving.
“We have been to the mosque to thank God with our Muslim brothers and we are also here in the church to thank God Almighty for giving us a wonderful time and a successful celebration as an institute”.
Also speaking, the Chairman College of Fellows of NIOB nationwide, Ojanbati Timothy Sunday attributed the thanksgiving ceremony to creating awareness and sensitise the congregation on the need to engage professional builders while embarking on their building projects.
He added that the State Chapter also visited Schools to educate the students on the need to consider building as a profession in order to totally eradicate building collapse.
On her part, Monisola Oyeniyi harped on the importance of engaging professional female builders on building projects, saying the female counterparts are capable and reliable to be entrusted with quality delivery.
She urged aspiring female builders not to be limited as a result of their gender, saying many women are making waves in the profession even though it’s a male-dominated environment.
