The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has again demonstrated the State Government’s commitment to zero tolerance for building collapse in all parts of the State with the demolition of a distressed and partially disintegrated building at 21, Ayoola Lawal Street, Ilaje Odo-Eran Bariga, Lagos.
The General Manager of LASBCA, Arc. Gbolahan Oki, spoke during the removal of the four-floor structure which had partially collapsed over the weekend, saying that the building had previously been subjected to engineering probing in the year 2019 by a team of LASBCA Monitoring Officials.
However, according to him, the owner turned deaf ears to all advice given by the Agency to salvage the structure, stressing that the refusal of the owner to subject the building to Non-Destructive Structural Integrity Test to ascertain the level of its structural stability was a major cause of the partial collapse.
Oki said that the Agency’s team of experts had, after a thorough appraisal of the structure, discovered that the building was old, weak and that all the structural members could no longer sustain its weight, hence the need for total removal to avert impending danger in the area.
His words: “The decision to demolish the whole building was taken after a thorough engineering appraisal and close monitoring carried out by the Agency with a view to preventing its imminent collapse, avert needless loss of lives and damage to adjoining property”.
Maintaining that the ongoing demolition of distressed and non-conforming building in the State is a wakeup call to recalcitrant property owners and developers who violate the State Control building regulations, Oki warned that such structures shall be removed by the Agency and the cost of removal will be borne by the owner.
He appealed to building owners/developers to follow the due process for obtaining necessary building approvals before construction, insisting that only services of relevant professionals and State agencies, such as the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, should be engaged to make buildings safe and fit for habitation.
