FG committed to tackling building collapse across the country – Minister

By Ige Adekunle

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, says the Federal Government is committed to tackling the menace of building collapse in the country.

Nnaji stated this during the 45th Anniversary of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) on Thursday in Ota, Ogun.

The minister commended NBRRI for making the country proud by providing solutions to the menace of building collapse, bridge and road failures, housing deficit, engineering materials, among others, since its establishment in 1978.

Nnaji assured the NBRRI that the federal government would continue to support the Institute through more funding as it was one of the agencies showing commitment toward actualising the objectives of President Bola Tinubu.

“The institute has consistently organised highly educative and informative fora, which have become rallying points for stakeholders in the road and built-environment construction sector, especially the academia, research and professional bodies,” he said.

Nnaji noted that all research institutes were problem solvers, but NBRRI was not just a problem solver but goal getter, solution provider, economic builder, life saver and the country’s image maker.

The minister described the NBRRI as, “a successful agency and pride of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.”

He also applauded the agency for its remarkable and great achievements for the past 45 years of its existence.

In his welcome address, Prof. Samson Duna, Director-General of NBRRI, said the occasion served as a testament to the institute’s unwavering commitment to pioneering groundbreaking innovations in the field of building and road infrastructure.

“This, no doubt, would bolster and energise our resolve to revolutiionise the building and roads infrastructure sub-sector of our national development,” he said.

Duna said the institute had not only shaped the past of the nation in the past 45 years of its existence but was poised to lead the way into a future where NBRRI continued to be a beacon of innovation and driving force in the advancement of the building and road construction landscape.

The DG commended the minister for increasing the budget of the agency, which was far better that what it was before.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister also commissioned four projects of the NBRRI.

The projects included: ICT multi-purpose building, well-equipped for Unified Tertiary Matriculation; the prototype NBRRI Bamboo Reinforcement Storey Building, NBRRI Workshop Bay and NBRRI Technical Village. (NAN)

Edited by Salif Atojoko