Imo All Progressives Congress (APC) has joined the government and people of the state to commiserate with families of victims of the recently collapsed eight-storey commercial building under construction along Umaru Musa Yar’Adua drive, New Owerri, while also urging full investigation to ascertain the real and remote causes of the tragedy.

A press statement signed by Cajetan Duke on behalf of the media directorate of the party said: “We extend our sincere condolences to families who lost their loved ones and bread winners in the unfortunate and avoidable incident, while we pray for the quick recuperation of those who sustained various degrees of injuries as well as the peaceful repose of the dead.

“We condemn in its entirety the incessant cases of building collapse in the country, which is gradually becoming a recurrent decimal with its attendant unimaginable loss of lives and properties. We hold strongly that these regrettable incidents must not be unconnected to gross abuse of professional ethics, negligence, incompetency, poor supervision, use of substandard materials and corruption by the developer, contractor's and other stakeholders involved.

“We regret that while Imolites are working so hard to win the battle against the rampaging and life threatening novel corona virus through compliance to government directives on social distancing, economic lockdown and restriction of movement, the contractor in violation to relevant sections of Imo State Covid-19 Prevention Law mobilised more than fifty people to site, when the incident occurred. We view this action as unpatriotic and serious sabotage to government efforts to contain the spread of the corona virus in the state.

“To forestall the repeat of this ugly event and to sanitise the sector in line with the 3R mantra of governor Hope Uzodinma’s government of Shared Prosperity, our party therefore calls on governor Uzodinma to immediately institute a full-scale investigation to determine the actual cause of the collapse of the high profiled building as well as to ascertain the degree of compliance to all regulatory standards and protocols.”