Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The new Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos State, Mr Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins, has promised to achieve zero-building collapse in the state, saying he has the mandate to meet this target from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The Commissioner said this when he held a roundtable discussion with professionals and stakeholders in the built sector to proffer lasting solutions to incidents of building collapse in the state.
He acknowledged the need for the state government to collaborate with the built professionals to bring sanity to the sector and also expand the scope of the monitoring and inspection activities of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) to all parts of the metropolis.
Mr Bamgbose-Martins further promised to implement recommendations made from the event tagged Round Table Discussion on the Roles of Professionals in Effective Monitoring and Stage Inspection – A Solution to Building Collapse.
He said to show his seriousness about the matter, the state government will suspend approval for additional floors on already existing buildings and amendments to approvals for additional floors, noting that this was to checkmate haphazard physical development and building collapse.
“For now, building approvals will henceforth be based on the number of floors applied for from the inception of that building.
“We are going to discourage giving approvals for additional floors different from the numbers of floors that had earlier been approved when the construction works started originally,” the Commissioner stated.
Responding to the concerns raised by the professional bodies on bringing to book individuals or organisations found culpable in incidents of building collapse, the Commissioner assured the stakeholders that nobody, including government officials, would be covered for wrongdoings, unprofessionalism or for any unethical conduct.
He pleaded for genuine attitudinal change on the part of government officials, building developers, professional bodies, members of the public and other relevant stakeholders, saying that with the appropriate attitude, incidents of building collapse would be reduced to the barest minimum.
Earlier, the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on E-GIS and Planning Matters, Mr Olajide Babatunde, described the choice of the new Commissioner as a fair and well-thought-out decision by the Governor.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Abiola Kosegbe, emphasised the need to enforce adherence to laid down processes during construction works, saying “How do we ensure that developers who are desirous of maximising profits are following guidelines when the built professionals are not enforcing site inspection and compliance to designs”.
Rather than casting aspersions on the people in government, Mr Kosegbe opined that stakeholders should see the task of monitoring and ensuring that building designs are followed by developers as a joint responsibility that should not be left to the government alone.
Also contributing, the General Manager of LASBCA, Mr Gbolahan Oki, remarked that the present administration understands and recognises the importance of civic engagement in achieving its policy thrust which informed the stakeholders’ roundtable.
He implored all those involved in the building process to embrace genuine/positive attitudinal change as this will go a long way in nipping in the bud the incidences of building collapse in Lagos State.
