BUILDING COLLAPSE: SANWO-OLU SEEKS COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS ON COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING LAWS
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has called on all stakeholders in the built industry to lend their support to the state government by ensuring voluntary compliance to existing rules and guidelines in order to curb incessant cases of collapsed building in the State.
Speaking today through his deputy, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat at the 2nd Annual Stakeholders Conference organized by the Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory with the theme, “Socio-Economic Impact of Building and Civil Infrastructure Collapse in Mega Cities” held in Ikeja, Sanwo-Olu said his administration is irrevocably committed to ensuring that the incidents of avoidable building collapse and the resulting loss of lives and property become a thing of the past in the state.
While noting that government alone cannot do it, Governor Sanwo-Olu said, such collaborative effort will be a cost effective and efficient approach to all parties as against the loss that will be incurred by property owners and cost of enforcement on the part of the government when the option of demolition becomes inevitable.
He further said that efforts taken by government to reposition the agency for efficient performance include capital investment in specialized testing equipment, improving the agency’s reach by procuring more operational vehicles and establishment of a new laboratory satellite office at Okokomaiko which will be operational before the end of the third quarter of 2022.
In addition, Sanwo-Olu said the government has granted approval for the engagement of both technical and non-technical consultants to facilitate the operations of the agency in the areas of carrying out non-destructive tests and serving of test notices across the State.
Earlier in his welcome address, the General Manager, Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, Engr. Olufunsho Elulade disclosed that the Conference is organized in view of the resolve of stakeholders in the built industry to interact and inform themselves of recent developments, innovations and regulations guiding building and civil engineering construction within the State.
He therefore implore the participants/stakeholders at the event to take cognizance of the recent developments across the state regarding incessant building collapse due to sharp and untoward practice by building construction practitioners which in turn has a serious negative impact on the socio-economic activities of Lagos State being a mega city.
While noting that the agency will enforce and mitigate the environmental risk associated with collapse of buildings in the state, Engr. Elulade noted that to resolve the problems of collapse building in the state, practitioners should conform to the best global practices, stating that “we need to engage ourselves to the reality of times and avoid undue risk on health and safety of citizens across the state”.
He stressed further that the agency is committed to relating with the stakeholders for robust and more pragmatic solutions to the negative effects of all the shortfalls within the building and civil engineering sector to restrict contraventions of the laws guiding the Laboratory.
