Gov. Sanwo-Olu begins rebuilding of YABATECH’s burnt hostel

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has started the rebuilding of the Bakassi Hostel at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), which was destroyed by fire several years ago.

The contractor has now officially taken over the project site.

This move fulfills the governor’s promise made during YABATECH’s 36th Convocation Lecture last year, where he pledged to rebuild the hostel that had been abandoned after the fire incident.

The handover ceremony took place at the college’s main campus in Yaba. Engr. Adedayo Adeyemi, Project Coordinator from the Lagos State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, led the event on behalf of the state government.

He explained that the handover marks the beginning of construction and shows the government’s commitment to improving education infrastructure.

Adeyemi stated that the ministry would share all necessary documents and plans with the college. Since the original building drawings were missing, preliminary sketches were used to prepare cost estimates, but the college has offered to provide updated plans for better technical accuracy.

Representing YABATECH’s management, Arc. Femi Lawal, Deputy Rector (Administration), thanked the Lagos State Government for restarting a project that had been inactive for years. He said the reconstruction would help the college train more skilled students and expand its facilities.

Lawal also requested copies of the project drawings and schedules to ensure transparency and smooth communication.

He nominated Engr. Adewale Azeez, Director of Works and Services, and the Director of Physical Planning to represent the college during supervision and progress meetings.

He assured the government and contractor of the college’s full support and expressed confidence that the project would be completed within nine months.

Engr. Adeola Akinwale, representing the contractor, thanked both the government and YABATECH for their cooperation and promised to deliver quality work on time.

The rebuilding project is part of the Lagos State Government’s plan to improve infrastructure in tertiary institutions and strengthen technical education across the state.

At the event, YABATECH’s Rector, Dr. Engr. Ibraheem Abdul, praised Governor Sanwo-Olu for keeping his promise and thanked the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure team for their efforts.