LASG TO REMOVE BUILDINGS WITHOUT APPROVAL AFTER NINETY DAYS AMNESTY PERIOD.
-HARPS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INSURANCE IN THE BUILT INDUSTRY
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde says any building in Lagos State without building approvals after the expiration of the ninety days amnesty period granted by the Lagos State Governor will be pulled down by the State Building Control Agency, LASBCA.
Dr. Babatunde disclosed this today at a workshop organised by the Lagos State Building Control Agency in its headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos.
The workshop which centered on ” Understanding Building Control in Lagos State” was put together to address salient issues and misconceptions about the activities of the Agency as it relates to issuance of certifications and the importance of insurance in the built industry.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde spoke extensively on the need for every building in the State to have the certificate of Completion and fitness for habitation as well as an insurance policy that can be relied on during disaster period such as fire incidents
He warned. ”As a step towards reduction in building collapse in the State, no building should be occupied in the state without possessing the Certificate of Completion and Fitness for Habitation issued by the State Building Control Agency which is renewable every five years”.
He reiterated the Governors directives to owners of buildings with attachments to remove them immediately as the state will not allow such attachment again in any building across the state noting that such attachment hinders rescue operations during emergencies.
“Henceforth, the State Government will continue to remove any attachment erected on buildings across the State because these attachment obstructs rescue operations during emergencies especially during fire incidences” he stated
He disclosed that the state government through the Lagos State Building Control Agency has taken proactive measures to alert owners of buildings that are distressed in the state to pulled them down as the state government published in three national daily, three hundred and fifty nine (359) distressed buildings across the State with over 90perecent of such buildings pulled down by the owners to avoid disaster.
Speaking on the Dosunmu Fire incident, the Commissioner for Special Duty and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr Gbenga Oyerinde, and his Counterpart at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Olayinka Olumide, at the workshop, allays the fear of victims of the fire incident of Government abandoning them to their fate. They disclosed that enumeration and collation of victims have been concluded and very soon, the state government will make a pronouncement on the level of assistance that will be given to all the victims of the fire incident.
Speaking earlier, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki said that the importance of the workshop is to clear grey areas on the operations of LASBCA and how to go about getting the necessary certifications issued by the Agency.
Oki called on building owners in the state to do the right thing because it is cheaper to do the right thing and obey all extant rules and regulations governing the building and construction industry in the state.
He noted that at the expiration of the Governor’s amnesty period for owners of buildings to obtain approvals, the agency will go all out to request for details such as certificate for fitness and habitation issued by the State Building Control after meeting all necessary requirements and certificate of building insurance. He advised developers to build according to specifications and the approval or permits given.
Paper delivered at the workshop by an insurance consultant, Mr Yemi Solajoye spoke extensively on the need for every building in the state to take insurance cover against any disaster especially building collapse or fire outbreak. He called for compulsory enforcement of insurance of buildings by owners in Lagos state as a way of mitigating against losses during emergency periods.
While commending the organisers for putting the event together, a retired Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commissions, Mr Foud Oki, called for a more enlarge engagement with the public especially at the grassroots where these building regulations infraction regularly takes place and professionals made to speak in native indigenous language that can easily be understand by the natives.
Dignitaries at the event include members of the State Executive Councils, Permanent Secretaries, (both serving and retired), General Managers, Heads of Departments, professional associations as well as representatives of Civil Societies.
Olaoye Olusegun
Public Affairs Unit
LASBCA
7/05/2024.