By OYINTUTU OYINKOLADE

Nigeria has recorded more than 1,600 deaths from over 650 building collapse incidents in the last 52 years.

Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr Muttaqha Darma, disclosed this on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja.

He described the statistics as tragic, saying the figures represented lives lost and families devastated rather than mere records.

“Since 1974 Nigeria has recorded more than 650 building collapses and over 1,600 deaths. Those are not figures; they are funerals.

“Almost every one of those buildings had a designer, a builder and an approving officer.

“In most cases nobody was licensed and nobody was punished,” he said.

Darma said the statistics, among other challenges, prompted the renewed calls for stricter regulation of the construction sector.

According to him, many collapsed buildings had designers, builders and approving officers, yet licensing and accountability were largely absent.

Darma said the Federal Government was proposing a National Housing and Built Environment Regulation Policy to strengthen oversight.

He said the policy would enforce licensing of developers and agents, improve construction standards and ensure professional registration.

The proposal also includes escrow protection for homebuyers, improved land administration and a national housing data observatory.

Darma said government planned to establish a National Housing Industry Regulatory Commission to enforce compliance across the sector.

He stressed that restoring public confidence in housing required effective regulation and strict enforcement of building standards.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, said weak regulatory enforcement and fragmented data had undermined housing quality and safety for years.

He said the proposed reforms would strengthen planning, improve compliance and help prevent avoidable building collapse disasters nationwide. (NAN)