Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple, has reiterated calls for appropriate sanctions to be imposed on developers and architects who make use of substandard materials for property development, leading to building collapse.

Pepple made the remark recently at the commissioning of 17 low-cost housing units in Karu, Nasarawa State, as part of the building project funded by MTN Foundation.

It would be recalled that in 2005, MTN Foundation released N117 million to Habitat for Humanity, a property firm, to construct 100 units of two-bedroom housing units. The 17 low-cost housing units are additions to the 100 units built by the organisation.

The minister noted that the spate of collapsed buildings in the country can be attributed mainly to usage of substandard building materials, poor supervision and inexperienced labour.

“At least those that erect collapsed buildings are professionals; they are experts who have done some supervision so I think they should be punished. Most times, this problem is also attached to bad workers, bad supervision and bad quality of materials that are been used for building these collapsed structures.

“In fact, why do we supervise houses when we know we are not capable of the supervision? We have to look at alternative building materials instead of continuous use of cements and sands. Let’s look for something else to depend on,” she stated.

Chairman, Habitat for Humanity, Mr. Fortune Ebie, called for immediate and effective approach to resuscitate the housing situation in the country, adding that access to land has become a herculean task in some parts of the country. He commended MTN Foundation for its gesture, and appealed to the Federal Government to provide free lands and infrastructure in order to complement government’s effort in providing shelter for Nigerians.

In his remarks, Chairman of MTN Foundation, Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu, said the housing project was the fulfillment of promise to empower, sustain as well as contribute value to the country. He noted that the initiative has not only contributed to affordable housing but also provided beneficiaries with opportunity to invest in their future.

Ahmadu, who was represented at the occasion, said the project has been handed over to their partner to monitor repayment of the mortgages while forthcoming proceeds are to be used in providing more housing units for other beneficiaries within the country.