By Akinwale Kasali
Lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly have pointed accusing finger at the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State Building and Control Agency, LASBCA, as responsible for the misfortune that befell the State last week, following the collapse of a 21-Storey Skyscraper on Gerard Road, Ikoyi. Lagos. This has led to the death of 44 people, so far, with several others injured.
The Lagos State Assembly has now called on Governor Sanwo Olu to compensate the families of the victims that died, stressing that the negligence of the State Government and its Agency led to the catastrophic incident.
The Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa led House, in a motion, called on the Governor to direct the relevant agencies of Government to ensure that all requirements for buildings as stipulated in extant laws of the State are strictly adhered to.
Presiding at the Plenary, Obasa said, “We should exercise patience before passing comments concerning the incident until the findings of the committees looking into it unravels the cause,” adding that it was obvious that the agencies saddled with the responsibility of monitoring buildings and their construction have not done much.
“The Government should compensate victims’ families. If the agencies had done the needful we would not have this sad occurrence,” he said.
Obasa urged his colleagues to sympathize with the families of the deceased and pray for the repose of their souls.
Hon. Nureni Akinsanya, representing Mushin 1 Constituency, who moved the Motion had earlier expressed worry over the collapse of the building in the state, stressing that the negligence of the Agencies saddled with overseeing the structures and control shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves.
Akinsanya added that, “The House expressed worry over the wide speculation that the building was raised to 21 floors contrary to the 15 floors approved by the Lagos State Physical planning permit authority (LASPPPA) for the owner.”
The motion added that the House was worried that over time, the State had recorded series of building collapse like the one that happened at in November 2006 and a 3-storey building that collapsed in Ita Faaji in 2016, among others.
“The House is disturbed about the constant collapse of buildings in the state and the manner in which agencies set up to inspect building work, give certification at various stages of construction and keep records for ease of reference, and realise that these frequent cases of building collapse can be attributed to unqualified or unskilled builders, use of sub-standard building materials, illegal conversion or alterations to existing structures and lack of maintenance to mention a few,” the motion said.
The House then mandated its Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development to invite the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development as well as other agencies saddled with the responsibilities of issuing approval, monitoring of construction and project development with a view to ascertaining the level of compliance with the extant laws and regulations relating to buildings in the state.
In his submission, Hon. Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1), implored others to support the motion noting that it was well couched.
Hon. Oluyinka Ogundimu (Agege 2) said that the motion was all encompassing as the second part of it had given the committee the power to go into details all in the interest of the public.
Hon. Setonji David, Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Publicity and Strategy, opined that many factors might be responsible for the incident.
The lawmakers, thereafter, observed a minute silence for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives.
