Why we withdrew services at collapsed Ikoyi building – Consultant

A fresh revelation on why the 25-storey building along Gerard/Bourdillon Road in the Ikoyi area of Lagos collapsed on Monday has emerged.

An unspecified number of people, mostly construction workers were trapped when the building came down Monday afternoon.

In a letter signed by Murtala Olawale, the Managing Director of Prowess Engineering Limited, the building structural consultants, the company said the owner of the edifice, Femi Osibona, was informed about the building’s structural deficit through his firm, Fourscore Heights Limited, 21 months ago.

In the letter dated February 20, 2020, and titled “Re-Proposed Gerrard Terraces for Fourscore Limited,” Prowess Engineering Limited announced its intention to withdraw its services as the two companies no longer share the same vision on the project.

The company, which had constructed two other buildings for its client, said it could not guarantee the integrity of the third project (collapsed building) beyond the fourth floor.

It read: “This letter is to formally inform you of the withdraw of our structural consultancy service from the above-named project. We arrived at this decision due to the fact that we no longer share the same vision with you as our client in terms of how the project is being executed.

READ ALSO: 21-storey building collapses in Lagos, scores trapped

“We can guarantee the integrity of the first two buildings and also work done up to the fourth floor of the third building supervised by us provided specifications have been met in terms of the required concrete strength.

“This we do not have control over as we do not have the concrete cube test results of each stage of the building till date. Also, note that we are not taking responsibility for any other construction errors that may have occurred over time on the project.

“Furthermore, we request that our company’s name and logo be removed from the project board and also kindly notify all necessary approving authorities of our withdrawal from the project.

“We regret this decision and the lost opportunity to do business together. We look forward to future cooperation in other projects.”

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