The Standard Organisation of Nigeria has noted that economic hardships and hyperinflation affect prices of construction materials, making adherence to standards a herculean challenge.
This was disclosed at the recently concluded one-day national conference on the building/construction sector, organised by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment at the Nigeria Air Force Conference Centre, Abuja.
In a statement, it was emphasised that adherence to standard practices is the key to sustainable development in the country’s construction industry.
It stated, “Having observed that adherence to standard practices is at the bedrock of sustainability in the building and construction sector, having observed that non-adherence to standards and codes of practice in the construction process has resulted in building collapses, endangering lives, loss of property, and damaging public trust, while there was nothing wrong with the adaptation of foreign codes and standards, such adaptation needs to address local conditions and peculiarities.
“The current economic hardships and hyperinflation have affected the prices of construction materials in an upward trend, and adherence to standards has become a challenge.”
The organisation stated that the conference highlighted the need for structural designs to be carried out solely by qualified professionals to curb building collapses, underscoring the importance of using only certified construction materials.
It added, “The law on the use of professionals at all stages of building construction should be enforced. There must be a law to punish defaulting professionals, professional bodies, quacks, clients, and investors. Regular integrity tests must be conducted on buildings, particularly when their intended purposes have been altered.
The conference called on the National Assembly to pass the National Building Code, which has been on the shelves for years, into law as part of efforts to stem building collapses.
It declared, “The directive issued 13 years ago to evict SON from the ports in an attempt to enhance ease of doing business should be reversed. This observation has become necessary because SON cannot be issuing the Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme certificates without being at the ports to inspect and test materials imported for the construction and other sectors.
“Rapid urbanisation and rising population had placed immense demands on every infrastructure, making the building construction industry both an opportunity and a challenge. Nigeria’s growing population required a rapid increase in affordable housing, which brings with it the challenge of meeting demand without compromising on quality.
“Also, in spite of many sensitisation and awareness campaigns carried out by SON, many industry stakeholders and practitioners still lacked awareness of the standards required for safe, durable, and sustainable buildings. Professionals in the building sector should stay strictly within their areas of competence, and every stakeholder, from contractors to suppliers and artisans, must be committed to using approved materials and adhering strictly to standards.”
