23rd April, 2015
Kazeem Ugbodaga
At least 447 defective buildings may collapse in Lagos as the state government has marked 191 other distressed buildings for demolition out of which 41 have been demolished.
Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde at a ministerial news conference on Wednesday in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, said in the last one year, 5,910 structures were identified and served contravention notices, while 447 defective buildings were also identified in different parts of Lagos State.
The General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, Abimbola Animashaun, disclosed that 191 buildings were approved for demolition out of which 41 of them had been demolished, with the remaining awaiting demolition.
She revealed that 4,099 contravention notices were served, while 2,226 buildings were sealed for non-compliance and 444 buildings were unsealed after compliance.
Animashaun said the agency is structured to respond effectively to distress calls arising from fire incidence and building collapse, saying that its officers had consistently liaised with all relevant agencies to ensure that life and properties were protected.
“During this period, we responded to over 80 distress calls. We have responded to major incidents such as the Synagogue building collapse, Jankara incidents, the foam incident, spare parts, Balogun Market and Ereko,” she stated.
Ayinde added that the government experienced less collapse of structures because it was possible to monitor construction processes and issue certificates of fitness for habitation.
“Due to the high level of information dissemination, strict and effective monitoring, qualitative and responsive services were rendered to the general public. As such, all dangerous, illegal and non-conforming structures were identified and promptly removed to forestall any casualty and maintain a zero tolerance for building collapse in the state.
“Amidst all of this care, we had the unfortunate incident of the collapse in the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations which rattled the whole world. Investigation on this issue is still in progress at the State Coroner. It is worthy of note that the level of compliance has increased and this is evident, especially in the aspect of enforcement and quality control.
“We recently increased the capacity of the agency in charge to be able to achieve more results. As part of the Building Control process, 42 building insurance policies were verified, 108 court summons were served on properties, 66 of which are still on while 42 are already decided,” Ayinde said.