TO curtail the menace of building collapse, the Lagos State Government has re-launch the issuance of the certificate for completion and fitness for habitation.
Launching the initiative in Ikeja, the state capital, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said it was was one of the moves to further reduce building collapse. He said the huge losses that accompany building collapse, called for the redesigning of a more holistic strategy that would nip the menace in the bud.
The governor said law-abiding citizens and those whose construction were done to specifications had nothing to worry about as the initiative would save them the stress of presenting documents to the monitoring and enforcement teams.
Commissioner for Physical Planning, Dr. Idris Salako, said over the years, only few buildings could boast of having been issued the certificate after satisfying the statutory requirements.
He stressed that buildings seeking the planning permit and buildings that have been detected to be distressed would be required to present satisfying results of non-destructive tests to ensure the structural integrity and prevent imminent collapse. He charged officers of the agency to ensure due diligence while carrying out their duties.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), General Manager, Gbolahan Oki, noted that the decision to re launch the project is to enhance professionalism and expunge quackery from the industry. According to him, the agency is poised to take building control to greater heights through enhanced broad-based participatory planning and commitment to deepening building construction engagements with the citizenry, professional bodies and sectoral stakeholders.
He stressed that the agency is putting in place strategies that would serve as a pedestal for improved service delivery to its clients. This resolve, he recalled, was recently demonstrated at Ebute Metta, where a highly distressed building housing over 300 young pupils was pulled down to avert disaster.
Oki stressed that building construction would, henceforth, be monitored by officials of LASBCA from foundation to finish ensuring specifications were followed. He however requested the deployment of a specialised unit of police and paramilitary officers to be in the Office of the General Manager, LASBCA, to ensure protection of officers during enforcement.
source: thenationonlineng
