Amb. Chijioke Ihunwo, Chairman, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, at the site of collapsed three-storey building in Iriebe on Tuesday.
•Council Chairman Orders Investigation
By ERIC MOORE
A THREE-STOREY building has collapsed in Iriebe community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State.
Pentoks News gathered that the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, while construction was on the third floor.
It could not be ascertained if casualties were recorded in the development
Meanwhile, the chairman of Obio/Akpor local government area, Chijioke Ihunwo, has ordered investigation into the incident after he had visited the site of collapsed building.
Ihunwo, who could not ascertain if there are human casualties under the rubble, expressed sadness over the loss and asked the owner (yet unknown) of the property to report to his office on Wednesday alongside his site engineer for questioning.
The council boss in a statement by his media aide, Ofonime Okon, said: “The collapse is quite unfortunate and as a local government, we have closed down this site with immediate effect and instructed the owner of the building to furnish us with the necessary building approval from the ministry of Urban development.
“For now, we cannot ascertain if someone is under the rubble.”
The chairman also questioned the quality of materials used in the construction.
“You can see for yourself the kind of materials used for this project and that is why we are inviting the owner of the building for interrogation, so that he can tell us why he is using substandard materials for this kind of building”.
Ihunwo also indicated plans to work with the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development to ascertain if the ministry actually approved the building plan for the project.