A two-storey building, on Wednesday morning, collapsed in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The building, which was located at Road 5 Extension Avenue in the Umuguma area of Owerri, collapsed around 5.00am.
The PUNCH observed that government workers from the Owerri Capital Development Authority were sealing up the building.
One of the workers who spoke to The PUNCH, but refused to disclose his identity, said they had the instruction of the leadership of the Agency to seal the site.
He said, “I am from the operations Department of OCDA. We have the mandate of the leadership to seal this place and ensure safety. That is what we have done. As you can see there was no casualty. Nobody was in the building as of the time it collapsed. They are about rounding off the building before it caved in. To the glory of God the workers doing the finishing works were not present.
“We have sealed it and a probe has been ordered into it. We will find out who gave the owner a building permit and approval. What kind of an engineer was in charge. Who were the surveyor and architect. These are the things we will find out because it is the constitutional responsibility of our Agency to do so.”
A resident of the area, who declined disclosing his identity, said “It was in the morning when we were still asleep that we heard an unusual noise. We rushed out only to behold that this building had caved in. At first we were scared. We thought the workers doing the finishing touches slept there. We made contacts and we were told that the workers left in the evening.
“OCDA people are here. After going round the building, they sealed it. Just look at the millions of naira which had been wasted now with the collapse of this building. In this harsh economy; in this Buhari’s regime? This is saddening. I condole with the young man who owns this place. He must be going through a lot now.”
The media aide of the General Manager of OCDA, Iheanyi Enwerem, said that the agency promptly responded to the emergency.
PUNCH
