Demolition fever grips Lagos Island, Ebute Meta’s residents

It’s no longer news that two buildings collapsed in Lagos metropolis penultimate week within two days in Lagoswith many casualties.

It is also known that the state government has also marked some distressed structures adorning both Lagos Island and Ebute Metta landscape to forestall reoccurrence.

To show the seriousness attached to the exercise, the Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has commenced the demolition of these identified distressed buildings.

The first operation was the pulling down of the remains of a three- floor structure that partially collapsed along Chris Ngadi Avenue, Ago Palace Way, Okota early last Saturday morning.

Besides, the state authorities, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and LABSCA have been forced to intervene in an illegal building site at No 54, Ibadan Street, Ebute Meta in Lagos.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the construction had failed numerous integrity and structural tests.

The building, according to the permanent secretary of LASEMA, DrOlufemiDamilolaOke-Osanyintolu, had been subjected to many“stop work” orders which have been flouted severally.

In the interests of public safety and to forestall any disaster, the LASEMA boss said the structure was pulled down to ‘Ground Zero’ by the agency with immediate effect.

Speaking on Ago Palace Way building collapse, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, stated that detailed investigation into the remote and immediate causes of the collapse had been ordered.

However, cursory report of the collapse suggested that a section of the building gave way due to over density.

The commissioner said that no lives were lost despite the fact that the building was in use, adding that the site had been cordoned off to guarantee safety.

Salako added that to avert danger another structure under construction on the same street was completely pulled down by LASBCA for poor construction and use of inferior materials.

He averred that all hands must be on deck to tackle the menace of building collapse as the recurring events, especially during the rainy season were quite worrisome and requiring holistic measures from all and sundry.

He disclosed that the state government was instituting a lot of far reaching measures to reform the regulatory environment.

The measures include the application of stage- detection technology, automation of the activities of the physical planning ‘s ministry and its agencies and the creation of more district offices to have more presence in remote parts of the states and be able to detect illegal and distressed buildings.

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