Lagos to commence audit of utility infrastructure in Jan —LASIMRA

THE Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA) has said that it would commence audit of underground and over the ground utility infrastructure within the geographical boundaries of the state in January 2017 to ascertain their quality, quantum and guide in proper regulation and planning.

Chief Executive Officer of LASIMRA, Mr Babajide Odekunle, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ forum with telecommunication service providers and others.

Odekunle said the audit became imperative owing to the urgent need to determine the actual telecommunication and water cables as well as gas and water pipelines under the ground and on the ground for effective planning of the city.

The LASIMRA boss said the state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, had already given approval and necessary support for the commencement of the audit, adding that other agencies of government which would be involved in management of the effect of the exercise had been adequately sensitised on their roles.

He said the agency was very much determined to sanitise the process of erecting infrastructures within the boundaries of the state, and as such would go a long way in ensuring sanity and address issues associated with non-compliance with global best practices.

Odekunle assured that the database that would be built from the exercise would become a most sought after information that would become a guide to the future of the state.

While urging the stakeholders to cooperate with government in its bid to sanitise the sector, Odekunle said inasmuch as government had made adequate preparation for a hitch-free exercise, members of the public should also cooperate with government in that regard.

In his technical presentation at the forum, Managing Director of Critical Infrastructure Services Limited, Mr C. O. Obike, said telecommunication remained very strategic to the economy and national security, and as such, all stakeholders must play by the rules.

He condemned the practice whereby telecom operators construct beyond the approved kilometres for the purpose of erecting cables underground, and the laying of cables inside drainages, saying such often times, resulted in the blockage of the drainage channels which eventually leads to flooding.