Building collapse scare disrupts issuance of certificate of return in Enugu

The presentation of certificate of return to Enugu State Governor-elect, Peter MBA, was briefly disrupted on Thursday following fears that the hall where the event was held could collapse.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed the certificate issuance event for Mr MBA, his running mate, Ifeanyi Ossai and the 23 House of Assembly members-elect for Bon Platinum Hotel, Enugu.

As people gathered, an alarm was raised by some people who claimed to have heard a bang from the structure. This caused the crowd to scamper for safety.

The police then ordered evacuation of the hall which had as large number of supporters and family members who converged to witness the event.

The Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) sealed off the hotel hall on Friday.

ECTDA, during the inspection of the facility on Friday, said it discovered that the building had no approved plan, together with another upcoming structure in the hotel.

The Chairman of ECTDA, Dr Josef Onoh, added that the hotel’s management was impatient with ECTDA to conclude its investigation of the facility and was bent on holding another function on the distressed hall on Saturday without resolving the problem with the building.

Mr Onoh said: “The hall doesn’t have an approval but the hotel has and there was a structural bang in the hall the previous day when INEC was issuing certificates of return which made everybody to scamper for safety because they thought the building was about to collapse.

“We went there today for inspection and we are now sealing off the place, including another building being developed at the back,“ he said.

Mr Onoh said the proprietor of the hotel was not ready to exercise patience to enable the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) to come for its own inspection.