The Lagos State Government has expressed its condolences over the death of construction site workers who lost their lives on Tuesday as a result of the collapse of a five-storey building under construction on Kushenla Road, Ikate Elegushi, Lekki. In a press release issued on Wednesday and signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the Lagos State Government also announced that
Based on preliminary reports and investigation, it was
discovered that the collapsed building was served contravention notice for
exceeding the approved floors and thereafter sealed by the Lagos State Building
Control Agency.
It added that it has also been discovered that in a brazen
act of defiance and impunity, the owners of the building, Messrs Lekki
Worldwide Estate Limited, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, criminally unsealed
the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the unfortunate
incident of Tuesday which has led to loss of lives.
The statement added
that arising from the Lagos State Executive Council meeting decision on Wednesday;
the State Government will no longer tolerate the action of unscrupulous owners
and builders who challenge its supervisory control thereby endangering the
lives of Lagosians.
The State Government
has consequently directed the suspension of work at the site and ordered the
Lagos State Police Command to cordon it off as it is now a crime scene.
The government also
directed further integrity tests be carried out on every other construction
project which has or is currently being handled by Messrs Lekki Worldwide
Estate Limited in the interest of public safety.
Furthermore, the
release quoted the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as saying that
all directors of Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited are strongly advised to submit
themselves to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police within the next twenty
four hours in their own interest or face immediate arrest.
The statement also
commended the timely response and remarkable intervention by the combined men
of the Lagos State Emergency Authority (LASEMA), the Lagos State Fire Service,
Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Red Cross, National Emergency Agency
(NEMA), Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
The Lagos State
Government also warned that it will no longer be business as usual stating that
any developer either on existing or new building projects who fails to comply
with building and construction regulations or attempts to subvert the law will
henceforth face criminal prosecution.
SIGNED
STEVE AYORINDE
LAGOS STATE
MARCH 9, 2016
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