Obiano to set up building materials lab

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano yesterday, visited the site of the collapsed building in Onitsha, which claimed the lives of four people.
The governor, who was received at the site by the Anglican Bishop on the Niger, Rt. Rev. Owen Nwokolo, announced that he would in the next few weeks, commission a laboratory that would test and certify all building materials used for building construction in Anambra State.
This, he explained, was to ensure that only standard quality materials were used and to forestall future building collapse in the state.
According to him, the proposed laboratory would operate like drug labs to ensure maximum quality.
The governor directed the state Commissioner for Works, Mr. Callistus Ilozumba, to carry out a technical survey of another building within the premises of the Anglican Church, to ensure that it met the required standard and did not not portend danger to the people.
He warned builders in the state, to avoid cutting corners in handling their projects.
The state government, he said, would henceforth, prosecute any contractor whose construction work collapsed.
Governor Obiano sympathised with the Anglican Bishop on the Niger and the victims of the accident.
Recall that a three-storey office building under construction by the Anglican Church collapsed on Monday, killing four of the five workers in the building.  Initial report indicated that about 15 persons were trapped inside the building.