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By Gabriel Enogholase, BENIN

Building Collapse Prevention Guild, BCPG, has announced Edo State as the state in the South-South geopolitical zone with zero building collapse in 2022. This is as contained in its 2020 report.

According to the report, no fewer than 61 buildings collapsed across the country in 2022, with Lagos State topping with 20 incidents.

The report noted that Lagos was closely followed by Kano, Anambra, Delta, Jigawa and Oyo states  with seven, five, four, four and three records of 20 incidents for the year 2022.

Responding to the BCPG 2022 report, Isoken Omo, the Edo State Ministry of Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development, sad the impressive feat was attributed to the state’s strict adherence to building regulations and the efforts by the ministry to ensure that all construction projects are up to code.

According to her, the ministry has been working closely with construction companies, developers, and contractors to ensure that all buildings in the state meet safety standards.

She said: “We have also been conducting regular inspections of construction sites to identify and address any potential issues before they can lead to a building collapse.

“We are glad that this commitment to safety has clearly paid off with the new report which acknowledged our efforts as the state has not seen a single building collapse in 2022.

“We are very proud of this accomplishment and are committed to maintaining this record. We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that all buildings in Edo State are safe and meet all necessary regulations.”“While the doctor was attending to her, she made a phone call to the suspects whom she deceptively invited to come and pay her bill and that she was being treated by the doctor.

“Moments later, the hoodlums stormed the hospital in a Toyota vehicle, entered the doctor’s office, and shot him twice in the chest, leading to his death. The purported female patient fled alongside the suspects.

“The Commissioner of Police, while extending his heartfelt condolences to the family members of the deceased medical doctor and also members of the Nigerian Medical Association, reassured them that the case will be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the deserved justice is served.

“Finally, it is pertinent to state clearly that the rumours making rounds that the family members of a supposedly dead patient were responsible for the murder of the doctor is completely false and should be disregarded as there is no record of any patient that died prior to the unfortunate incident.

“The command thus wishes to finally use this opportunity to seek the assistance of all and sundry in our effort to lift the veil off the face of the perpetrators.”

PSN condemns the murder of Iluobe

In a condolence message sent to the President of NMA by PSN National Publicity Secretary, Felix Ndiukwu, it also called on security agencies to bring the killers to book.

The PSN president also conveyed the regrets of the Nigerian pharmacists to the president and members of NMA, decried attacks on healthcare professionals, stating that PSN was seriously alarmed that in recent years, major caregivers, including pharmacists, physicians, nurses and laboratory scientists have been murdered in the line of duty with reckless abandon without adequate response from the government and its array of security agents.

He said: “This development, if not checked, leaves the healthcare personnel vulnerable to the unending brain drain which continues to afflict our nation with impending dire consequences.”

While lending his voice to calls on the authorities to be deliberate about protecting life, especially those of professionals, he charged them to bring the killers of Dr. Iluobe to justice.

The PSN President also consoled the family of the slain Dr. Iluobe and prayed for his soul’s peaceful repose.