Builders call for quick passage of National Building Code

The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has asked the 9th National Assembly to lay to rest the decade-long advocacy for the passage of the National Building Code, a regulatory document that has been before the National Assembly for over ten years.

President of the Institute, Prof Yohana Izam, who spoke in Abuja, at the World Press Conference to commemorate the Year 2022 Builders Day, explained that the institute is working with the 9th National Assembly on the need to pass the National Building Code.

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He stated that when passed into law, it will serve as an effective regulatory framework needed by relevant authorities to challenge sharp practices in the building construction industry.

“We believe that the 9th Assembly will consolidate on her efforts to bequeath a lasting legacy to building with integrity for an egalitarian construction industry in Nigeria,” Prof Izam said.

He said the theme for this year’s annual commemoration, “Building with Integrity” is deliberately orchestrated to initiate a paradigm shift from “collapse” to “integrity,”’ adding that the objective is to create awareness on the need for stakeholders to sustain the development of frameworks and regulations for building process control and urban development practices as a sine-quanon for building with integrity.

He explained that; “building control that is innovative must go beyond cosmetic enforcement of codes and regulations, but must distinguish and enthrone the roles of professional actors in building project delivery.”

He said in this regard, innovative building control has to be comprehensive by attending to the needs of the building project life cycle to create integrity in planning, design, construction, occupancy and post-occupancy phases.

He noted that since the Ita-Faaji building collapse of 2019, the Lagos State Government has stipulated in its Building Regulations of 2019, that building construction sites across Lagos State should be managed by professional/registered builders.

Describing the policy as an ‘integrity-driven effort,’ the President; “at the FCT, Abuja, it is significant to note that the practice of builders document has been mainstreamed into development control process; the ultimate will however be the passage of the building code enforcement law by the National Assembly.