By Clem Khena-Ogbena
The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed its determination toimprove supervision and enforcement standards for the cement industry in the country.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, who gave the indication yesterday, in Abuja, while speaking at the Second Lafarge National Dialogue Series, explained that such resolve was part of the government measure to minimize the incident of building collapse in the country.
Aganga, who was represented at the conference by the Permanent Secretary, FMITI, Amb. Abdulkadir Musa, expressed the hope that with the improvement in supervision in the cement industry, Nigerians would no longer worry about the frequent incident of building construction- related- hazards, which have been the bane of the construction industry in the country. The minister added that the challenge that building collapse was imposing to the nation was a source of worry to the government At the conference with theme, “Building Collapse: An Assessment of Building Practices in Nigeria and the Imperative for Sustainable Construction, the minister further reaffirmed that the government was leaving no stone unturned in its determination to put in place quality standards in the country.
Aganga stated: “A new era of consciousness has begun and will be sustained effectively. To this end, we are working on introduction of courses on standards in universities in the country. As instrument of
positive change, we are responding appropriately to incidence and occurrences as they arise, while working assiduously to prevent others from ever occurring.
“Government is fighting the scourge with all resources in order to ensure that the trend is permanently halted. The implementation of ISO standards for building as well as the enforcement of building codes
are currently being embarked upon.”
Also speaking at the event, the Executive Vice President and Clyntry Chief Executive, Lafarge Group, Mr Guillaume Roux, assured that the company would provide solutions to support urbanization and the
growing population of Nigeria,adding that the company’s commitment to the wellbeing of its consumers resulted in the innovation towards re-awakening of the industry, with a view to tackling the menace of building collapse in the country.
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