As Approval Officers Lament Attacks By Contractors Of 3,000 Shops Under Construction.
Death Tole Rises To 3 Persons ,4 Rescued.
Twenty four hours after a two storey building collapsed at Eke Oyibo Market Amawbia in Awka South local government area of Anambra state, there is growing controversy over the approvals of the about three thousand shops both completed and under construction.
Meanwhile the number of deaths recorded from the incident had allegedly risen to three as against the initial report of one person that died yesterday while two more persons were rescued bringing the number of survivors to four.
According to the Head Development Control Mr Charles Ekwunife most of the buildings have no approval papers adding that staff and officials of the Awka Capital Development Agency ACTDA are always been harassed and attacked by contractors at the site and that at some point the contractors use law enforcement agencies to stop the officials from going on site inspection.
He further explained that when officers of the Development Control department invite them to present drawings and building plans they refuse and continue developments.
“They uses local law enforcement agents. Disregarded several stop work orders and has no building approval from ACTDA”
“We have it on record that the staff of the department of Development Control were being attacked by contractors when they come to enforce the laws on building”
“The contactors use law enforcement agencies to stop them from going on site inspections and the contractors refuse to go and obtain approvals from the office of ACTDA”
“The contractors dismiss the stop work mark on those buildings under construction and continue to build ” he said.
At the site this Friday morning it was gathered that after the death of one staff of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps NSCDC another death was recorded as a carpenter on site also died while his serving carpenter; a young man is suspected to have died in the rubble as the search for his body continues.
Similarly what seemed like a miracle occured at the collapsed building when a little child crawled out of a space in the rubble and reported to the rescue team that her mother was trapped in there .
It took the use of an excavator to clear the rubble and rescue operators assisted the woman to come out of the collapsed building.
The woman was carried away by an ambulance to the Health Center almost opposite the market and she is responding to treatment.
At the Health Center which also doubles as a Maternity the nurse in charge confirmed that the casualties were brought there but that they have returned to their homes after treatment.
