Miffed by the frequent incidents of building collapse in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has ordered the demolition of 20 houses in Banana Island, Ikoyi area of the state.
Speaking on Saturday during a visit to the site of the recent building collapse on First Avenue in Banana Island, a visibly angry Sanwo-Olu accused some agencies of the federal government of being culpable in the incidents of building collapse on the highbrow Island.
The governor also described as reckless the way and manner officials of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), the promoters of the estate, issued permission to sand fill the Lagos Lagoon without regard to the topography of the area.
He stated that the site of the collapsed building was not originally part of the island’s plan.
“We are at the back of the land that is abutting. You can see that the original line for Banana Island is not even here. It is way in front and you can see that there are several extensions granted by both the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and NIWA. These are the two federal agencies that have been culpable for those extensions. They have done these extensions without our knowledge.
“We have responsibility for building approval. All of the four buildings at the back never got our approval. This is an illegality that is real and that is why we are going around the properties.
“The excuse that they don’t have access is not acceptable. It is total recklessness. All the developers and the culpable officers will be sanctioned.
“But what we are doing now is – we have set up an external committee who are given two weeks to independently ascertain what has gone wrong here and they should finish the work towards the end of next week. This will further strengthen our hands to be able to come up with a robust work plan that we can enforce going forward.
“It is heartbreaking each time we have to go through this and it shows how irresponsible both the developers, some of our citizens that just want to make quick money, and of course our officers, who are not alive to their responsibility.
“We have had to change staff here and there so that we can bring forward robust and very strong monitoring offices, but we are still short of it, I must say. We need to do what we have to do to keep the lives of our citizens safe at all times, ” Sanwo-Olu explained.
The governor accused some officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) of corruption, stressing that they would be held responsible for the recent collapse of a seven-story building on the island recently.
Sanwo-Olu lamented that approvals were given to developers by the federal government in connivance with some corrupt officials of the Lagos State government, adding that the land on which the collapsed building was built was not originally part of the approved Banana Island’s plans.
He stated that no construction should have been carried out on the land.
“There has been a lot of investigation going on. We have seen the extent of unapproved expansion into the water. There have been several extensions approved by the Federal Ministry of Works without our knowledge,” he added.
The governor also inspected other ongoing building projects to ascertain their level of compliance.
In some areas, Sanwo-Olu was shocked to find multi-storey buildings constructed directly under high-tension power lines.
After inspecting the buildings, he ordered them demolished immediately.
He was also scandalised that some buildings that had earlier been demolished by the state government had been reconstructed without the government’s permission.
The governor, who was accompanied by Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins, Special Adviser on Works, Adeyoye Aramide, and the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, among others, ordered the demolition of 20 completed buildings on the island.
While three of the buildings are from the commercial section of the island, 17 are from the residential section.
“We are at the site of the last unfortunate building collapse in Banana Island Lagos and I am sure you have all gone around and seen the site. As has been reported before, there has been a lot of investigation that is going on right now and you can see that they are still clearing the rubbles at the site.
“We have given the order to stop work, not only at this site but also in all of the construction sites in Banana Island.
“I think that the exercise we are doing today is not really just about this location. You have all seen the extent of what I will call an unapproved extension into the water, at the back of each of the land that is aborting water.
“You can see that the original line for Banana Island is not even where we are. It’s in front there and you can see that several extensions have been granted by both the Federal Ministry of Work and Housing and NIWA. These are the two federal agencies that have been culpable for those extensions.
“They have done these extensions even without our knowledge. We have the responsibility for building approvals and the rest of these.
“From what I have been told, all of the four buildings at the back have never even applied for approvals.
“The illegality is real and so, that is why we are going around other properties in Banana Island.
“Excuses have been given that they don’t have access and this is not acceptable. This is a total recklessness of all of the developers and we will make a strong point out of this place and all-around Banana Island and in other developments that we have.
“The officers that will also be similarly found culpable will also be sanctioned, if any.
“In all of these places, it’s heartbreaking each time we have to go through these and it shows sometimes how irresponsible those developers and some of our citizens that just want to make quick money.
“And of course, our own officers who are also not alive to their responsibilities.
“We have had to change staff here and there so that we can bring forward robust and very strong monitoring offices. But we believe that we are still far from it, we are still short on it I must say.
“And we will continue to do what we need to do to ensure that we keep the lives of our residents safe at all times. We are going around as I said that this is not the first one, you are free to join us if you want.”
Segun James
Follow us on:
In Mexico's western Sinaloa state, at least 53 people have been killed and 51 others…
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has announced the arrest of two suspected political thugs during…
President Bola Tinubu on Saturday rejoiced with his better half, Oluremi Tinubu, on the occasion…
NIgeria's federal government and organised labour have signed an agreement on the new minimum wage…
A significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has occurred following an…
Africa’s largest gathering of creative industry professionals, CANEX WKND, is taking place from October 16-19,…
View Comments
NIGERIA 🇳🇬 CUST0M SERVICE REPLACEMENT FORM IS FINALLY OUT FOR 2022 /2023 BATCH B AND YOU CAN GET IT DIRECTLY FROM THE ZONAL HEADQUARTERS IN NIGERIA INTERESTED APPLICANT THAT HAS WAECE, NECO, NCE, ND, HND, BSC CAN APPLY PLEASE KINDLY CONTACT ME ON: FOR MORE INQUIRIES
CONTACT
OFFICER Eze ON
[07O 4540_-6674 ]
BAGS OF RICE 18K
OIL 10K
CARS FEATURES AND
PRICE BELOW
GOLF 2,3,4,5 #250,000
TOYOTA CAMRY BIG
DADDY #550,000
TOYOTA CAMRY
TINYLIGH= #350,000
TOYOTA CAMRY
MUSCLE= #850,000
TOYOTA CAMRY
PENCILLIGHT=#400,000
TOYOTA COROLLA
le=#550,000
TOYOTA COROLLA
S=#750,000
TOYOTA
VENZA=#950,00 1.8m
TOYOTA Hilux 1.5 million
TOYOTA AVALON
#800,000
TOYOTA AVENSIS
#700,000
TOYOTA RAV4 1.2m
TOYOTA SIENNA
#550,000
TOYOTA
4runner#850,000
TOYOTA TUNDRA 1.9m
TOYOTA PICNIC
#550,000
TOYOTA Highlander
#950,000
TOYOTA PADRO JEEP
1.6m
TOYOTA LAND
CRUISER=1.5m
TOYOTA YARIS #459,000
TOYOTA MATRIX
#650,000
TOYOTA HAICE BUS
#750,000
ACCURA ZDX 1.6m
ACCURA MDX 1.9m
HONDA PILOT #950,00
HONDA BABY BOY
#550,000
HONDA END OF
DISCUSSION
HONDA ACCORD
#450,000
Honda CR-V #850,000
INFINITY fx450 #750,000
to 1.4m
NISSAN MURANO
#650,00
LEXUS RX 350 #950,000
LEXUS RS 330 # 850,000
LEXUS RS 300 # 750,000
LEXUS RX 470 1.5m
All NEGOTIABLE WE
RENDER GOOD SERVICE
TO CUSTOMER ....{ E.T .C}
LOCATION AT OGUN
STATE IDIROKO BORDER WE
HAVE TWO OPTION
ELDER WE DELIVERY OR
YOU COME OVER IF WE
HAVE TO COME OVER WE
NEED THIS FROM YOU
{1} NATIONAL ID CARD
{2} BORDER PERMIT
{3} INSPECTION DOCUMENTS
{4} 2PASSPORT
THANKS FOR YOUR
PATRONAGE WE
DELIVER TO 36 STATE IN
NIGERIA AND ALSO
COME DOWN WITH THE
FULL PAYMENT CALL
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
{07O 4540_-6674}