September 15, 2022

… Seals seven Illegal Buildings under Construction, Orders a Non-Destructive Test for a Block at 1004 Estate

The General Manager Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki on Thursday directed owners/developers of buildings under construction that have exceeded the approved building plan to revert to the original plan approved and granted to them by the State Government.

This directive of the General Manager was conveyed through the Director of Enforcement, LASBCA, Mr. Olusoji Olopa during the Agency’s routine monitoring and enforcement exercise carried out at Eti-Osa and Surulere areas of the State recently.

Oki, who emphasised the need for strict adherence to the new directives by property owners/developers, stated that the move by the government is meant to compel compliance to building approvals as part of strategies to nip in the bud the menace of building collapse in the State.

“This new directive is a decision taken by LASBCA towards ensuring the prevention of building collapse and the attendant consequences that comes with it, such as the loss of lives and properties”, he stated.

“The monitoring and enforcement exercises carried out today by the agency was to ensure that buildings under constructions that were earlier sealed were not broken by owners/developers without doing the needful. It is also to ensure that the buildings that have exceeded the number of floors approved by the government without proper procedures are reverted to the original plan”, he added.

Oki reiterated the need for other relevant agencies and professional bodies in the building industry to come on board and help the government to stem the tides of building collapse in the State with their professional inputs.

He advised the building public to value life and do the right thing at all times as it is no longer business as usual, saying “Life is irreplaceable, let us change our attitude positively to save lives and ensure that this menace called building collapse does not continue any longer”.

During the monitoring and enforcement exercises, seven other buildings under construction were sealed at the Eti-Osa and Surulere axis of the State for various building contraventions from construction without approval/authorisation to breaking Government seals amongst others.

In a similar development, the management of 1004 Estate, Victoria Island has been ordered to carry out a Non-Destructive Test to ascertain the structural stability of one of the blocks in the estate which was discovered to be visibly distressed by the Agency’s officers while on routine monitoring of the area.

Recall that the agency recently held a roundtable where professionals in the built industry were invited to proffer solutions to the incessant building collapse in the State and an agreement was reached for a joint collaborative effort between the government and built stakeholders.