BY PETER OKUTU

ABAKALIKI – Ebonyi State chapter of Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, yesterday raised an alarm that the doctor’s residential quarters of Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, FETHA, would soon collapse because of the shabby work done by the contractor.

NSE Chairman, Engr Nwali Etche, who disclosed this to newsmen, pointed out that disaster was looming within the premises of the hospital because the contractor who built the doctor’s quarter used substandard materials for four storey building.

He called on the management of the hospital to order the doctors out of the building with immediate effect to avert a looming disaster.

Etche expressed fears that the doctors, despite the warning, were still staying in the building after they were advised to vacate the place.

He pointed out that those still in the building were playing with their lives as the building would collapse at any time without warning.

“The 21 days ultimatum given to the doctors to quit the building has expired but the doctors are still in the building. The management of the hospital will be held responsible if anything happens.

“Since we informed them of the development, and up till now they have not called us to discuss the issue. We also asked them to give us the details of the contractor but they refused. We shall be meeting very soon to discuss the next step to take,” he said

Some of the doctors who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, claimed that the building was built during Dr. Sam Egwu’s administration and that the contractor who executed the project was a former Vice Chairman, South-East of the PDP.

However, an impeccable government source revealed that the PDP stalwart who handled the project hailed from Anambra State and that had been told to carry out  corrective work on the building but   refused to do so. The source described as regrettable the poor execution of the contract by the PDP stalwart.

Contacted, Chief Medical Director of the hospital, CMD, Dr Paul Olisaemeka Ezeonu, denied that the building was showing signs of collapse.