A two-storey building under construction has collapsed opposite the Asaba International Airport.

The building, a hotel, located opposite Asaba Airport Police Station, Okpanam, collapsed following persistent downpour. The incident has caused serious panic among residents in the area.

Eyewitnesses revealed that some of the trapped workers have been rescued while the search for others continued on Thursday.

Although there is no report of loss of lives, it was gathered that some of the workers jumped from the building into other compounds around the building at the time of the incidence.

It was gathered that the workers had finished the second storey and were moving to the parapet when the building collapsed.

A source, a security man, disclosed that some workers sustained injuries in the process of trying to escape for their lives.

The security man who escaped by the whiskers, having left just few minutes before the collapse, revealed that work was ongoing before the building collapsed. According to him, the building was being rushed by the owner due to the constant rains.

According to one of the workers who simply identified himself as David, several workers were injured while jumping from the second floor of the building to escape being trapped while few others successfully escaped unhurt.

David disclosed that those who sustained wounds had been rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

He added, “As we talk, everybody has left the site and you know for fear of police arrest, some of the people in charge of the building have gone into hiding.

“Some persons around the estate actually came to assist in the rescue of victims during the collapse of the building.”

When contacted for comments, the state Commissioner for Urban Renewal, Engr Michael Anoka, did not respond to calls and messages put across to his phone as at the time of filing in this report.

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Aba Chapter, has called on the Federal Government to urgently resuscitate the long-abandoned Aba petroleum depot.

The Chairman of Aba Depot of IPMAN, Oliver Emeka Okolo made the call in Aba on Wednesday when he received the officials of National Orientation Agency, NOA, who came on public sensitization visit.

Okolo who underscored the urgent need for justice and infrastructural revival, warned that the prolonged shutdown of the Aba petroleum depot has deepened unemployment, escalated crime and disrupted fuel distribution across the five states in Nigeria’s South-East.

“The dormant state of the Aba depot is not just an economic issue, it is a social one, with ripple effects on youth unemployment, crime, and regional instability,” Okolo said.

According to him, the continued lack of fuel supply due to poor pipeline connectivity, particularly for Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, and dual-purpose kerosene, DPK, has crippled operations.

He regretted that marketers are now forced to source products from the South-South and South-West regions, navigating treacherous road conditions that frequently damage tankers and result in significant losses.

“This is not just about fuel,” Okolo said. “It is about how systemic neglect, financial, infrastructural, regulatory, has pushed an entire region to the margins. We need presidential-level intervention to resume pumping into Aba. Otherwise, the damage will only deepen.”

The IPMAN chairman further promised that the association collaborate with the NOA in promotion of National unity.

In response, Victor Orji, Director of NOA, Abia State, applauded IPMAN for its dedication to fuel distribution despite adverse conditions and outlined NOA’s ongoing nationwide campaign titled ‘Pathway to National Cohesion, Development and Unity’.

He highlighted the campaign’s focus on tackling insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and herder-farmer conflicts, and called for support from petroleum marketers.

Nigerian singer, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has explained the motive for his rebranding in the build up to the release of his sophomore album, ‘HEIS,’ last year.

The singer rebranded by ditching his signature mask, Teddy bear, and embracing tattoos, smoking, and darker colours. He also changed his sound and aesthetics.

Speaking on the one year anniversary of his sophomore album on Thursday, Rema clarified that his rebranding, including smoking, was just an expression of art and not betrayal of his personality as many presumed.

He explained that the controversial album cover was inspired by Japanese anime series Naruto character, Itachi Uchiha.

On his X handle, he wrote, “HEIS, the Anniversary.

“I expressed a lot of surface level reasons why I released this project over a course of interviews when it came out but, here are few “SYMBOLIC” details that wrap around the ENERGY of the project I kept for myself but now, I’d like to share.

“Consider this an Author’s note;

“The cover was inspired by Itachi in Naruto. The Truth masked as illusion, Love buried under what y’all thought was betrayal ( change of sound, smoking , looks, aesthetics & choice of color ).”

OSUNDAILY NG recalls that rapper Shallipopi also made similar claims last year when he stated that he doesn’t smoke despite posing with cigarettes in his pictures and videos.

He claimed that he uses cigarettes for aesthetics.