Building Collapse: Contractors Must Invest In Safety, Skills Development — Fashola

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has urged building contractors to create strategies that will ensure the safety and protection of their workers to avert the incessant collapse of buildings in the country.

Fashola made this charge at the just-concluded 9th German Nigerian Business Forum (GNBF) organised by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigerian–German Chamber of Commerce and the German-African Business Association, in Lagos.

The minister speaking at the hybrid event on ‘The impact of skills development on the sustainability of the Nigerian Construction Industry’ said contractors need to place maximum attention on skills development, environmental safety, and social protection.

According to him, practical training of skilled and unskilled labour is a tool to improve the quality and quantity of infrastructure in Nigeria.

While reacting to the Ikoyi collapsed building, Fashola advised engineering companies to be compliant with the law guiding the professional to prevent such incidents.

Fashola recommended a minimum of one year of practical training for civil engineering students to be well-versed with all the standard safety procedures in construction sites, while experienced staff should constantly update their skills in their area of expertise.

“We need to tweak our training programs for those in the construction industry, civil engineering students on internship should be sent to construction sites so they could have a real-life practical experience of their professions.”