The ad hoc panel set up by the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, in the wake of the collapse of a gigantic five-storey centenary building at the premises of the popular Dennis Memorial Grammar School, in Onitsha, has commenced sitting with more surprises emerging.
The panel, however, kicked off irrespective of the intense protest by the Anglican Diocese on the Niger, owners of the unfortunate project, for the governor to drop or change two panelists, including the Chairman, Victor Meju and Prof. Akaolisa Ezeagu, who were accused of making scathing unverified and unprofessional remarks on why the building crashed.
The Church claimed that the remarks had portrayed the two officers as already biased even when the cause/s for the collapse of the building was yet to be investigated or subjected under scrutiny.
At the panel sitting, however, the Church tendered copies of the approved building plan with ref no. ANSPPB/BP/123/2022.
Tendering the plan to the panel, a member of the Church team told the panel: “A detailed technical assessment with a clear plan will be required to determine the cause of the collapse.”
The panel was also told that the wide and inaccurate conjectures, baseless insinuations and premature conclusions, no matter the attributions, do not explain the cause of the collapse.
During the proceeding, four persons involved in the construction of the building testified.
