News

Experts Attribute Incessant Building Collapse To Quackery

Published

4 years ago

July 31, 2020

Editor

Experts in the building profession have attributed incessant building collapse in the country to quacks who, according to them, members of the public prefer to contract in the construction of their buildings.

This was the position of Nigeria Institute of Building, NIOB, Wednesday in Benin at the induction of Builder (Mrs) Abiona-Omole Aina Evelyn as the first female fellow of the Institute in Edo State.

Thirty members were inducted across the country through zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in line with the NCDC guildlines on the pandemic.

Speaking, Gabriel Omoruyi, Chairman, NIOB, Edo State chapter, noted that quacks practising in the profession led to the incessant building collapse, just as he described anyone who is not licensed by the law as a quack.

Further decrying quackery in the profession, Omoruyi noted that every profession has regulary agency that regulate it activities, stressing that anyone who has not be licensed by the Council of Registered Builders should not be regarded as builder.

He warned that if not quick checked, after Boko Haram killings the next killer awaiting Nigeria and Nigerians is building collapse.

” Whether you like it or not, after Boko Haram, the next killer issue is building collapse. The society must recognise this fact. And the problem why building collapse is common these days is due to quackery. The question you may ask, who is a quack, a quack is simply someone is not enabled by the law to practice in a particular profession. Every profession has a regulary agency that regulate their practices.

“It pains that the Nigeria society has not come to recognise that there is a difference in building, building construction, and management. So, when it comes to the building of projects, it is the main function of a builder,” the chairman said.

Builder (Mrs.) Abiona-Omole Aina Evelyn, first female to be inducted in Edo State as fellow of Nigeria Institute of Building

Commenting further on Abiona-Omole as the first female to be inducted as fellow of the Institute in the state, Omoruyi said she must have worked hard to have attained the position, just as he added that the Institute don’t just give the position which he described as peak, nor does the Institute sell it out to unworthy persons.

” Nigeria Institute of Building don’t just give fellow; it is not purchased; it is a product of hardwork. To see a female, and the first female to attain this height, it is a thing of great joy,” he added.

On her part, the inductee, Abiona-Omole thanked God and her husband for giving her the opportunity to soar higher in her profession.

Admitting that it was not easy along the way, she noted that it took effort from other professional colleagues for her to succeed at the final stage of the exam.

News

50-year-old Man Dies While Watching Football Match In Lagos Bar

Published

1 hour ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

A yet-to-be-identified man has died allegedly watching football in an open bar along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Lagos.

It was discovered that the deceased, a man in his fifties, was a frequent patron of the open bar prior to the incident and had visited on May 15, 2024, to watch a football game.

But problems arose when it was later found that he was sleeping and that attempts to wake him up were unsuccessful.

The Lagos State Police Spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident by saying that on May 15, 2024, at approximately 7:00 PM, the owner of the open bar came to Elere Division to report that the same day, one of his male customers—whose name and address are unknown—died while watching a football game.

In an additional explanation, Hundeyin stated that when detectives from the division visited the scene, they saw the deceased lying lifeless on the chair without any signs of violence.

“His body has been taken to the mainland general hospital in Rusty Yaa for an autopsy,” he continued, “We are still trying to find his family.”

News

JUST IN: Tinubu Appoints Governing Board Members For 111 Tertiary Institutions

Published

10 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointments of at least 555 persons to serve as Pro-chancellors/Chairmen and members of Governing Boards of 111 federal universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

This followed Tinubu’s assent to a list of nominees selected by the Ministry of Education.

An advertorial by the Education Ministry sighted by The PUNCH showed the appointment of a chairperson and four members for each of the institutions.

It was signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack.

“The inauguration and retreat for the Governing Councils will take place on Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31, 2024, at the National Universities Commission, 26 Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja. Both events will commence at 9:00am daily,” said Walson-Jack.

When contacted for confirmation, the Presidency said the list emanated from the Ministry of Education.

“This is from the Federal Ministry of Education…they make the nominations and forward them to the President to sign. But they are at liberty to release it from their end,” the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, told The PUNCH on Sunday.

The appointments come days after the Academic Staff Union of Universities had threatened to embark on another strike, potentially disrupting the academic calendar and causing further setbacks in the country’s higher education sector.

The union, on Tuesday, decried the failure of the Federal Government to appoint Governing Councils for federal universities.

The union also faulted what it described as the nonchalant attitude of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to matters about academics in federal universities.

The body of academics, during a briefing at the University of Abuja, also faulted the 35 per cent salary increment for professors and the 25 per cent salary increment for other academics in the university system.

News

HOMEF Applauds NASS On Decision To Investigate GMOs In Nigeria

Published

11 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

…says Nigeria needs to prioritise public health

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and the GMO-Free Nigeria
Alliance have commended the House of Representatives on the resolution to comprehensively investigate the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into Nigeria and for a halt on approval of new products
pending the completion of that investigation.

This is as the House of Representatives also urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to ensure labelling of GM crops already in the country.

The House resolution to investigate the introduction of GMOs into Nigeria followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Muktar Shagaya at a plenary session held on Thursday 16th May 2024.

In a statement made available to INFO DAILY Kome Odhomor, Media/Communication Lead, HOMEF, the Executive Director of the organisation, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said ass the lawmaker rightly explained, the introduction of GMOs in Nigeria raises serious concerns about safety, regulatory oversight, and their potential impacts on the country’s biosafety.

He noted that the investigation which has been long “overdue is vital to save the country from the dangerous path to food colonialism, contamination of our genetic resources, loss of
biodiversity/nutritional diversity, soil degradation, and overall
disruption of our agriculture and food systems.”

Bassey continued: “This investigation must be unbiased and thorough. To ensure this, the National Assembly should engage independent researchers to avoid contamination of the process by GMO promoters.

“This investigation should consider Nigeria’s agricultural landscape and investigate the underlying
causes of hunger/food insecurity and as well establish definite measures to address those issues. This is the time to rescue Nigerians from being used for risky experimentations.”

The Executive Director also stressed the need for critical examination of the National Biosafety Management Agency Act for its fitness for purpose.

He further added: “That law needs to be completely reworked to close existing loopholes including the composition of its governing/decision making board by excluding GMO promoters such as the National Biotechnology Development Agency; the lack of provision on strict liability, inadequate public consultation measures, absolute decision-making powers of the agency, minimal reference to the precautionary principal and many others.

“This was the submission of Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, Food Sovereignty Activist and Deputy Executive Director at Friends of the Earth Nigeria.”

Also reacting to the Green Chamber’s call on NAFDAC to label GMO crops in the country, HOMEF’s Director of Programmes and lead on Hunger Politics, Joyce Brown, noted that the agency will need to devise strategies to have foods sold in local markets in basins, by the road sides, and in processed forms like Ogi and Akara labelled to ensure informed decision-making by the majority of people who purchase food from these sources.

“This exercise will prove that GMOs do not fit our socio-economic context. Over the years, market shelf surveys conducted by HOMEF has revealed over 50 different processed/packaged foods labelled as produced using genetically modified ingredients,” she added.

Brown advised that permits for commercialisation of GMO products such as Bt Cowpea, Tela Maize, Bt Corn and all others be suspended pending the result of the investigation by the House Committee on Agriculture and others.

The statement reaffirmed the submission by Rep. Shagaya that there’s need to prioritise public health, biodiversity, increased support of small holder farmers in terms of extension service, provision of infrastructure (to curtail waste), access to credits, access to land and the growth of our local economy.

“Nigeria should adopt agroecological farming which aligns well with our socio economic and socio cultural
context. Agroecology delivers increased productivity and economic resilience, revises/nourishes ecosystems, strengthens local economies, mitigates climate change and promotes food sovereignty,” the statement concluded.