In its bid to secure the lives and properties of the Lagos citizens, Lagos State Government has announced that it would kickstart a seven-day demolition of buildings that were improperly built.
This was contained in a statement released by the Spokesman, Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Mukaila Sanusi, media reported.
According to the commissioner of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako, the government is committed to guiding against any future disaster.
“This underlies our resolve to act promptly in addressing the spate of building collapse by removing uninhabitable structures before they cause more havoc, especially during the rainy season when such buildings are more prone to collapse.”
News Agency of Nigeria has it that “only identified defective buildings in the state would be taken down,” Sanusi added.
Salako noted that the purpose of the week-long exercise will be to pull down buildings that have already been identified by the Lagos State Building Control Agency.
“The exercise will start from Ebute-Metta East, the location of the building that collapsed recently,” he continued.
Investors King recalls that on Sunday, May 1, 2022, a three-story building collapsed at Ibadan street, Ebute-Metta.
The commissioner was quoted as saying that the most ideal and sensible thing to do was to promptly demolish those earlier identified critically distressed structures to avert disaster during the rainy season.
He said that this would be done simultaneously with the assessment of structures in the area and other parts of the state continued.
Over the past year, Lagos has been ravaged by several cases of building collapse. The most terrifying was the Ikoyi building collapse in 2021 that claimed dozens of lives, including the owner and promoter, Femi Osibona.