Warns Omo-oniles against distortion of the master plans
Lagos State government, through the Office of Urban Development and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), has vowed to remove structures that do not have requisite permits.
The state has also finalised plans to synergise operations with the private sector in the built industry for better service delivery.
The synergy which is to be christened, ‘Accredited Certifiers Programme’, is aimed at strengthening the capacity of government officials in monitoring and enforcing building regulations in the state.
This was disclosed at the LASBCA headquarters in Ikeja by Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Electronic Geographical Information System(e-GIS) and Urban Development, Olajide Babatunde.
He said recommendation of the Accredited Certifiers Programme emanated from a Government White Paper on the report of the Lagos State tribunal on the building collapse on 44 (B, C, D), Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The report calls for a more robust public private sector synergy that will help boost enforcement exercise, in terms of monitoring and inspection of all ongoing building constructions in the state.
According to him, the main reason for the partnership, which has been in the pipeline since 2021, was basically for zero tolerance towards building collapses in the state, through robust monitoring and inspection of all ongoing constructions.
He said: “The synergy with the private sector, as recommended by the White Paper report, will enhance better services delivery in some specific aspects, such as monitoring of the built environment, screening of drawings, and inspection of projects above six floors, and complementary roles for stage certification of projects above six floors, an initiative that will make the building process seamless and more effective.”
Babatunde noted that Lagos is blessed with large numbers of professionals in the built environment who are ready to bring in their expertise and capacity to ensure that buildings in the state are constructed to meet international standards.
He also emphasised that for seamless take-off of the Accredited Certifiers Programme to be achieved, various orientation workshops will be organised for successful consortium and individual professionals that meet the criteria of becoming Accredited Certifiers.
On his part, Permanent Secretary, Office of Urban Development, Shodeinde Nurudeen, said LASBCA is the sole enforcer of any form of building development in the state, and in order to reduce or eliminate the multiplicity of enforcement agents in the built industry, other state agencies and parastatals must interface with LASBCA.
Speaking earlier to newsmen in his office, the General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Owodunni Oki, disclosed that the agency will not condone illegal construction of buildings in any part of the state, as the agency is ready to remove all buildings constructed without requisite permits.
Oki was reacting to distortion of the master plan of some parts of the state by people, whom he described as “omo onile”.
He faulted their indiscriminate sale of lands earmarked by the government for roads, drainages and others to unsuspecting members of the public.
He noted that the government will not hesitate to remove buildings constructed on such lands earmarked for public interest, stressing that ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
He also advised developers and landowners to crosscheck titles of property they seek to purchase with the state land registry before finalising purchase agreements.
