VIO office collapses in Abuja

The new Directorate for Road Traffic Services (DRTS) office complex now under construction collapsed yesterday in Abuja.

The complex otherwise known as VIO office is said to be at the first storey stage.

The building is meant to be a five storey new office accommodation for the DRTS is being constructed by the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority (FCDA) at Mabushi.

The Public Relations Officer of DRTS, Mr. Kalu Emetu, who confirmed the incident to our reporter, said there was no death but one person was injured and had been taken to the hospital.

However, he did not say if more people were still trapped in the rubble.

Emetu added that though building belongs to DRTS, the technical oversight is the responsibility of FCDA.

“Yes there is an incident of building collapse at the new office site of DRTS. One person was injured and had been taken to the hospital. The work which is still at the first storey stage is DRTS’s new office but the technical oversight is that of FCDA. It is a partial collapse; it is not all the building that collapsed." Emetu said.

Meanwhile, FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has directed that all the bamboo props still in use within the building be removed immediately and replaced with iron props.

Briefing the minister at the site, the Acting Director in charge of Public Buildings, Arch I.K. Ekeldu said as soon as they received the report of the incident, they quickly mobilised to the scene to conduct investigation.

He said their findings revealed that the bamboo props used to support the concrete floor of the building were weak and thus gave way to the weight of the fresh concrete mix.

“It is not a case of building collapse but rather some of the bamboo props are weak and as soon as the raw concrete began to settle down they succumbed to stress and failed, that is why the concrete eroded.

“Only a portion of the first level of the building is affected but I can assure you that as a precautionary measure, we are going to conduct an integrity test on the remaining part of the building for quality assurance”.