Benue declares state of emergency on infrastructure, orders demolition of illegal buildings

The Benue government has declared a state of emergency on all infrastructure in the state.

In a statement on Thursday, Sam Ode, deputy governor of the state, announced the development at the end of the state executive council meeting in Makurdi, the Benue capital.

Ode said the executive council directed the ministry of works and housing to conduct an integrity test on all structures, including those on waterways.

The development comes two days after a Dunamis church in the state collapsed and killed a pastor.

The deputy governor said the executive members also ordered the ministry of cooperatives, rural and urban development, works and housing as well as that of lands, survey and solid minerals, to carry out an integrity test on the collapsed church building.

He said the test is to determine the cause of the collapse and to allow the government make informed decisions.

“The EXCO concluded that every building in the state that lacks structural and integrity test and those on waterways should be removed,” he said.

Commenting on the general state of infrastructure in the state, Tiza Imojime, commissioner for works and housing, said the government is working on plans to address them.

“I have embarked on an assessment of road infrastructure in the state in order to have first-hand information on their status,” Imojime said.

“Federal roads in the state have also been assessed and efforts are on to meet relevant federal agencies to intervene.”