Lagos State Building Control Agency officials have begun the process of removing distressed structures on Lagos Island, Mushin, and other areas of the state as part of efforts to control building collapse and prevent avoidable loss of life and property.
According to a statement released on Tuesday, the impacted buildings include three and four-flat units on Lagos Island’s Oke-Arin and Doherty Streets, as well as four-floor one-unit residential buildings in the state’s Idi Araba district.
General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, stated that the exercise was part of the agency’s routine responsibility to reduce the number of collapsed structures and unnecessary deaths among Lagos citizens.
Oki explained that the evacuation and partial demolition exercise by the agency was the last action by the agency before the final demolition. Oki stated that the evacuation and partial demolition exercise by the agency became necessary to force the occupants of the distressed buildings to relocate to safer accommodations.
“The administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu frowns on the avoidable loss of lives and property of residents of the state. It is time for Lagosians to take their safety seriously and avoid blaming the government at all times,” he added.
He promised state citizens that the agency will continue to persistently pursue its vision and aim of ensuring that all buildings across the state are fit for habitation and pose no harm to other surrounding structures.
A resident of one of the impacted buildings in the Oke-Arin district of the state, Mr Rabiu Jamiu, acknowledged that LASBCA officials had previously given an evacuation notice on the building’s occupants.
