Lagos House of Assembly has called on Gov. Babajide
Sanwo-Olu to compensate families of the victims of the collapsed 21-storey
building in Ikoyi.
The lawmakers also urged the governor to direct relevant
agencies to ensure that all requirements for buildings, as stipulated in the
extant laws of the state, were strictly adhered to.
The assembly arrived at the resolution, sequel to a motion
moved by Mr Nurein Akinsanya (Mushin I), during plenary on Monday in Lagos.
Akinsanya, who is the Chairman of, House Committee on
Physical Planning and Urban Development, expressed worries over the incessant
collapse of buildings in the state.
He said: “The House expresses worries over the wide
speculations that the building was raised to 21 floors, contrary to the 15
floors approved by the State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) for
the owner.
“This house is also worried that over time, the state has
recorded a series of building collapses, like the five-storey building that
collapsed in Lekki in November 2006 and the three-storey building that
collapsed in Ita Faaji, Lagos Island in 2016, among others.
“The house is disturbed about the manner in which the
agencies set up to inspect building works, gives certifications at various
stages of construction.
“Therefore, we have realised 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.”
In his submission, Mr. Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu I) implored his
colleagues to support the motion, noting that it was well-couched.
Reacting, Mr. Oluyinka Ogundimu (Agege II) 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.
Another lawmaker, Mr. David Setonji (Badagry II) said that
many factors might be responsible for the collapsed building, such as bad
design and structural defects.
The Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, while speaking on the
motion, said that it was an unfortunate development, given the loss of lives
and the attendant economic woes, adding that it was a disaster.
“We should exercise patience before passing comment. We
should wait until the committee looking into it unravels the cause.
“The agencies saddled with the responsibility have not done
well. We ought to act as a house to oversight the situation.
“The status of the investors should be checked, and we
should commiserate with the families of those who lost their lives.
“Government should also compensate the families. If the
agencies had done the needful, we would not have this sad occurrence,” he said.
The assembly, therefore, mandated the house committee on
physical planning and urban development to invite the Commissioner for Physical
Planning and Urban Development and other agencies.
According to the lawmakers, the agencies to be invited are
the ones saddled with the responsibilities of issuing approval and monitoring
construction and project development.
The assembly said that this had become necessary in order to
ascertain the level of compliance with the extant laws and regulations relating
to buildings in the state.
Earlier, the lawmakers had observed a minute silence for the
repose of the souls of those who died in the building collapse.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com