Tony Elumelu Offers Solution To Ceaseless Cases Of Collapsed Buildings

Tony Elumelu has provided a major way out of the ceaseless tragedies of collapsed buildings.

The leading investor and philanthropist provided the solution against the background that, according to the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), the nation has recorded 533 building collapses over the past 49 years with 2019 boosting 43 recorded cases.

Pointing out that a further estimated 36,000 buildings face impending collapse in the country., the prominent champion of entrepreneurship in Africa noted that the problem “requires a multi-sectoral approach to holistically deal with the root cause of building collapses in Nigeria”, but fingers Insurance as a vital fail-safe.

The extraordinary entrepreneur provided insight with the explanation that “Sections 64 and 65 of the Insurance Act 2003 specify that no person shall construct any building of more than two floors without insuring with a registered insurer. This Act further states that the duty to insure shall arise when a building is under construction.:

The import of Elumemlu’s insight is that qualify rather than quantity would be the prevailing standard – to be eligible for claims – when Insurance comes into play in construction, and would naturally bear on the unending cases of collapsed buildings.

Insisting on the need to adhere to building codes and legislation, the founder of family-owned investment company, committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy observed that the stipulations of the insurance act in the face of the cases of collapsed buildings provoke questions that include “What is the compliance level to the laws? Who is monitoring compliance? Are there punitive actions for non-compliance? and What is the awareness level for the provisions of the law on the insurance of public buildings?”.

Stressing that “Nigeria needs to build – Nigeria needs ports, roads, power stations, we need schools and hospitals, our people need homes.’ he asserted that” But this cannot happen if building codes, and legislation are flouted.”.

The chairman of the financial services group operating in 20 countries across Africa, the United Kingdom, France, the UAE, and is the only African bank with a commercial deposit taking presence in the United States added that “Insurance should be as central to our construction industry, as the concrete that binds our buildings.:

Elumelu who is also the Chairman of one of Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerates, Transcorp, however, admitted that “there is a role for insurance, but there are roles for professional associations such as the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE),”

The founder of the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs – The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), shared the solution on October 23, 2023, as the theme speaker at the National Insurance where spoke on the topic ” Redefining Safety: Insurance Solutions for Public Buildings and Buildings under Construction”

The event organized by the industry regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) held from October 22 to 24, 2023 at the Abuja Continental Hotel.