Building collapse: Lagos govt stops issuance of approval for additional floors

The Lagos State Government has placed a temporary stop on the issuance of approval for additional floors as well as an amendment on already existing building floors across the state.

Disclosing this during a meeting with professional bodies including the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Nigerian Institute of Builders, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Council for the Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria among others, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos State, Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins, said the measure would help to checkmate haphazard physical development that had often resulted in the collapse of existing buildings and others under construction in the state.

Bamgbose-Martins, at the meeting to identify solutions to cases of collapsed buildings in Lagos, stated that the temporary stop on approval was part of the measures immediately introduced to drastically reduce cases of collapsed buildings after his redeployment to the ministry.

According to him, presently, building approvals would henceforth be based on a number of floors applied from the inception of that building.

He said the state authority would not give approvals for additional floors different from the numbers of floors that had earlier been approved when the construction works started.

According to him, the mandate from the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was to end cases of collapsed buildings which he described as an embarrassment to the state considering its status globally.

The commissioner stated that efforts have been intensified to ensure anyone including government officials, responsible for cases of collapsed buildings were prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others planning to get involved in any unethical conduct.

He appealed for genuine attitudinal change on the part of government officials, building developers, professional bodies, members of the public, and other relevant stakeholders.

The commissioner acknowledged the need for the government to collaborate with the built professionals to bring sanity to the sector and also expand the scope of the monitoring and inspection activities of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

He noted that the recommendations and solutions presented by the professionals which had been divided into Long, Medium, and Short terms would be implemented accordingly.

The General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, said the agency had concluded plans to embark on a massive awareness campaign on building rights, using all available means of communication including social media, television, radio, and newspapers as well as continuous stakeholders’ engagement.

President of Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Toyin Ayinde, advocated genuine value and love for human lives among building stakeholders.

Ayinde said that the value for human lives would often lead to building rights in society and would further engender sincerity in the implementation of the State’s Physical Planning Law.

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