{"id":172,"date":"2025-02-19T17:46:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/?p=172"},"modified":"2025-04-15T17:53:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T17:53:41","slug":"nigeria-moves-to-tackle-building-collapses-son-ministry-propose-strict-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/2025\/02\/19\/nigeria-moves-to-tackle-building-collapses-son-ministry-propose-strict-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Moves to Tackle Building Collapses: SON, Ministry Propose Strict Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abuja, Nigeria \u2013 In a decisive move to curb Nigeria&#8217;s alarming rate of building collapses, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment have unveiled a comprehensive action plan following a high-level conference in Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;Key Recommendations to Prevent Building Failures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The government agencies proposed these critical interventions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mandatory professional involvement: Only qualified experts to handle building designs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strict material certification: Rigorous testing of all construction materials<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legal consequences: Punishments for quacks, defaulting professionals, and negligent clients<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regular building integrity tests: Especially for repurposed structures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Immediate passage: Of the long-delayed National Building Code<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Port reinstatement: Return of SON inspectors to seaports for material verification<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;Why These Measures Matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SON DirectorGeneral Ifeanyi Okeke sounded the alarm: &#8220;Nigeria&#8217;s rapid urbanization demands affordable housing, but we cannot compromise on safety standards.&#8221; He revealed disturbing gaps in industry compliance despite repeated sensitization campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The communique from the conference titled &#8216;Adherence to Standard Practices: Bedrock of Sustainable Development in the Building\/Construction Sector&#8217; highlighted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Critical need for SON&#8217;s physical presence at ports to properly implement the SONCAP certification program<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Urgent professionalization of all construction processes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Education reforms to address knowledge gaps from tertiary institutions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;The Port Access Controversy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A major sticking point remains the 13yearold policy barring SON from ports. Okeke argued: &#8220;We can&#8217;t effectively certify materials we don&#8217;t physically inspect. This loophole enables substandard imports that compromise building safety.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;Call to Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The agencies urged:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>National Assembly: To urgently pass the Building Code<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Professional bodies: To enforce strict disciplinary measures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Educational institutions: To upgrade construction related curricula<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Industry players: To use only certified materials and qualified personnel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SON committed to maintaining its membership in the African Organisation for Standardization and other global bodies to keep Nigeria&#8217;s standards internationally competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This is a collective responsibility,&#8221; Okeke emphasized. &#8220;From architects to bricklayers, we must all commit to building a safer Nigeria.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abuja, Nigeria \u2013 In a decisive move to curb Nigeria&#8217;s alarming rate of building collapses, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment have unveiled a comprehensive action plan following a high-level conference in Abuja. &nbsp;Key Recommendations to Prevent Building Failures The government agencies proposed these critical interventions: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[137],"class_list":["post-172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-son"],"formatted_date":"2 years Ago","categories_names":["News"],"fimg_url":"https:\/\/assets.propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blg\/uploads\/2025\/04\/standard-organization-of-nigeria-office-abuja-400x225.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertymarketplace.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}