Lagos State Government on Thursday said the land on which the 21-storey building that collapsed in Ikoyi last year November would be taken over by the state government, adding that it had handed over the two remaining skyscrapers still standing to a contractor to demolish within 90 days.
It would be recalled that the 21-storey building belonging to Fourscore Heights Limited which was located on Gerrard Road in Ikoyi collapsed on November 1, 2021, killing 44 people, including the firm’s Managing Director, Femi Osibona; his friend, the United States of America-based Nigerian businessman, Wale Bob-Oseni; his personal assistant, Oyinye Enekwe, and clients.
The State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, made this disclosure at a press conference held in Lagos on the handing over of the complexes to the contractor engaged by the government to demolish them.
He said the state government was taking over the land in line with the State Physical Planning Law which stipulated that owners of collapsed buildings would forfeit the land to the state.
According to him, though the state government has not taken a decision on what it would use the land for, it is likely to be used for something that will help to remember those who died in the building whenever it wants to put it to use.
The commissioner stated that the demolition would be done having the interest of the public, including the residents at heart.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the buildings were to go down based on the recommendations of the panel as they failed integrity tests.
Omotoso promised that any action taken on the project would be in the interest of the public, disclosing that a stakeholders’ meeting had previously been held to interact with residents and stakeholders in the building industry.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, said that the state government had no business with those who had paid to own apartments in the building that collapsed, declaring that the state government would not consider compensating them.
Managing Director of Edge of Designs, Theophilus Lewo, in his remarks, said the deconstruction would take about 90 days but might be extended due to weather, rain and the safety of the workers.
Lewo said his company would not be demolishing the building but deconstructing it using a controlled method by cutting it into pieces till it gets to ground level.
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