Lagos govt marks 70 defective buildings for demolition

The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has said it was set to demolish about 70 dilapidated buildings in the state after it demolished a partially collapsed building at No 19, Church Street, Lagos Island.

In a statement issued by LASBCA spokesman, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, on Friday, the General Manager of the agency, Gbolahan Oki, said it had become urgent to immediately remove dilapidated and distressed buildings, which are no longer fit for human habitation, to prevent collapse.

He noted that several other defective buildings had been marked for removal to rid the state of dilapidated buildings, in a bid to end building collapse in the state.

Oki said his team had earlier visited the distressed building site for an on-the-spot assessment and asked the residents to relocate for their safety.

Read also: Lagos govt to enforce demolition of distressed buildings

Also, the General Manager assured that due process would be followed for Non-Destructive Tests (NDTs) to be carried out on affected buildings to ascertain their structural integrity, adding that the tests would determine if the buildings would be renovated or demolished.

Furthermore, Oki maintained that the “government has zero-tolerance for building collapse, hence all building regulation codes within the state would be strictly enforced.”

He added that enforcement would include ensuring that all buildings above two stories, obtained insurance, as contained in the Building Regulations of 2019 (as amended).

Also, he warned developers and property owners to always do the right thing by involving LASBCA at various stages of their construction works and to obtain all requisite approvals and completion certificates.

Meanwhile, he appealed to Lagos residents to help the government achieve its aim of creating a safer state by reporting substandard construction and dilapidated structures within their locality to the agency.

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