A middle-aged man has reportedly lost his life in a collapsed two-storey building at the Egbelu Mgbaraja axis of Ogbogoro Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

This comes barely a week after the collapse of a three-storey building at the Iriebe axis of the same LGA, although no life was lost in that incident.

A witness, Mr. Jonathan Obey, said the building under construction at Ogbogoro caved in on Monday, at about 2pm while the contractors were working on the 2nd floor, killing one of them, while another narrowly escaped with severe injuries.

He said deliberate infractions by the property developer may have caused the building to collapse.

He said: “It’s a building collapse, as we speak one person is trapped right inside the rubble, when we first came, we tried to rescue the person but we couldn’t. When we did our investigation, we found out that they used substandard materials to execute the project, we also found out that the foundation was 3ft for a 2-storey building which was wrong.

“We also found out that some of the rods used by the builders were of low quality, the decking itself was not chained, there was no center beam, it was supposed to have a center beam and a pillar at the middle but it doesn’t have that. They did not use enough cement in casting the first decking.”

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has sealed the premises of the collapsed building and declared the property developer, Vincent Nwoye, wanted.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Evans Bipi, during an on-the-spot inspection of the collapsed building accused the developer of gross negligence and default of the extant building laws and regulations the state.

He cited failure by the property developer to obtain government-approved building plan and use of substandard materials as the cause of the building collapse and avoidable death.

Bipi said: “We have repeatedly warned that if you are caught building without government-approved building plan, you will certainly face the penalty.

“Government has sealed this property in question and declared the owner wanted because a life has been lost, we need to question him to know why he choose to use substandard materials to execute the project, on why he decided to use 12mm rod for a 2-storey building.

“It would interest the public to know that even the property does not have government approval, it is something the government will not take lightly, we will use this developer as scapegoat for others to learn.”

Ex-presidential spokesperson, Doyin Okupe, has given reasons why he would never support the former Anambra State governor again.

Okupe served as the director of Obi’s presidential campaign until he was forced to step down due to a court conviction for money laundering and later resigned from the Labour Party after the election.

Since resigning from the Labour Party, Okupe has become a prominent supporter of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Okupe had criticised Obi’s comments on how the economic situation offers little relief to the South-West, despite Tinubu being from the region.

In the viral clip, Obi said, “Let us talk about what is happening today. Rice is about N100,000. We are not even sure where we are going to be. ‘It’s our turn’, ‘he is a Yoruba man’—ask the people in Ogun, here is there any place you people buy bread cheaper?”

Okupe while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said, “When Obi made that statement, it insulted us. I am a Yoruba man; I left everything and followed Obi.

“For the first time, Obasanjo left his circle of influence and deviated to support Obi.

“I do not regret supporting Peter Obi. But now I cannot do it again. The reason why I did it was because we agreed that a southern president must emerge.

“I was approached that if a southern president must emerge, which zone must it come to? I said the south-east.

“If all these eminent Yoruba people supported you, why now bring us down publicly? It is wrong.”

Okupe also stated that he would never publicly attack Peter Obi, acknowledging his significant role in the former presidential candidate’s political rise.

“I cannot hate Peter Obi; I am sentimentally attached to Peter Obi. Peter Obi was my project, and I am part and parcel of those who built Peter Obi up, I can’t publicly denigrate that or bring down that house.

“But you know, when the sensibilities of some of us are affected, especially when it becomes a zonal matter, I mean when you call the entire Yoruba race out, I am an elder statesman and primarily a Yoruba man.

“If I cannot speak the truth at my age, then there is no point to live. What Peter Obi said was wrong, he said that emilokan, that they should ask people in Ogun State whether they are buying bread cheaper.

“When Bola Tinubu said emilokan, he was not addressing the nation, he was not addressing a rally, he was addressing APC delegates in the premises of Ogun State government who were going to APC convention that they should vote for him.”

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The imprisoned kids who joined EndBadGovernance protests have regained their freedom after 95 days in custody.

The kids regained freedom on Tuesday morning after the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja struck out the suit following an application by M.D Abubakar, counsel to the attorney-general of the federation (AGF).

The 76 kids were charged in court by Nigeria Police on Friday, for terrorism, treason and arson for participating in hunger protest.

Abubakar had applied to take over and discontinue the suit.

The kids freedom is coming barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu ordered their immediate release.

In a statement from the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, ”committee has been set up to look at the issues surrounding their arrest, detention and release. All the law enforcement agents related to the case will be investigated and anyone found wanting will be brought to book”.

The president also tasked the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to facilitating the safe return of the minors to their families.