Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has led a group of cement industry stakeholders is stating that poor construction practices and not the quality of cement is to blame for the growing incidence of building collapse in the country. The position was taken at a recent meeting in Lagos by the technical committee of stakeholders and put together by SON to review the cement standardisation in the country.

Speaking at a press briefing Lanre Opakunle, general manager of Industrial Performance at Lafarge WAPCO, said that the committee unanimously agreed that cement is not responsible for building collapse. According to the committee, factors like poor or low quality application at building construction sites, poor construction practices, poor supervision as well as corruption are mainly responsible for building collapses.

The meeting stressed the need for cement manufacturers to review their standards to align with the European standards. Cement producers were advised to indicate the usage and application of the cement types on their bags in a legible and clear manner.