The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has reiterated the state’s commitment to zero-tolerance for unapproved and haphazard building construction in the State, as it demolished a building around Ilupeju area.
This was disclosed by the General Manager of the Agency, Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki, in a statement, shared via the state’s Twitter handle on Monday.
Speaking during the demolition of the building on Monday Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki explained that the building in question had been identified by a team of its agency’s monitoring officers in August 2020.
According to him, all efforts by the Agency to prevail on the recalcitrant owner to follow due process and best practices, in consonance with the directive of the Agency, proved abortive.
Oki stated that the decision was taken after a thorough engineering appraisal and monitoring of the building by the Agency to ensure a better physical planning environment for sustainable development and averting needless loss of lives and property.
He said, “The demolition is a signal to any would-be recalcitrant developer who circumvents Government rules and regulations of the law, stressing that the structures shall be removed by the Agency and the cost of removal shall be borne by the owner.”
While noting that people had shown disregard for State laws on building construction in the past with worrisome resultant effects, Oki appealed to building owners and developers to desist from starting building projects without obtaining necessary building approvals.
Bottom line
Building owners are expected to seek authorisation from LASBCA, hire the services of relevant building professionals, speak to safety experts and test their building materials before the commencement of building construction, subject to the type of structures they are putting in place.
