Lagos govt vows to remove buildings without permits

Lagos govt vows to remove buildings without permits

The Lagos State Government says it will remove all buildings erected in any part of the state without the necessary permits.

It stated this through the Office of Urban Development and Lagos State Building Control Agency.

According to a statement by Olusegun Olaoye, Director of Public Affairs at ASBCA, the state government had finalised plans to work with the private sector in the built industry for better service delivery.

The synergy which is to be christened “Accredited Certifiers Program” is aimed at strengthening the capacity of government officials in monitoring and enforcement of building regulations in the state.

Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Electronic Geographical Information System(e-GIS) and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde, is quoted to have disclosed this.

He spoke at the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) headquarter in Ikeja

He said that the recommendations of Accredited Certifiers Programme emanated from the Government White Paper on the report of the Lagos State Tribunal of the Building Collapse on 44 (B, C, D), Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Part of the recommendations was a call for a more robust public private sector synergy to boost enforcement in terms of monitoring and inspection of all ongoing building constructions in the state.

Babatunde said the main reason for the partnership which had been in the pipeline since 2021 was basically for zero tolerance to building collapses in the state through robust monitoring and inspection of all ongoing constructions.

He stated, “The synergy with the private sectors as recommended by the White Paper report will enhance a better services delivery in some specifics 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.”

He noted that Lagos is blessed with a large number of professionals in the built environment ready to bring in their expertise and capacity to ensure buildings in the state are constructed to meet international standards.

The SA emphasized that for seamless take-off of the Accredited Certifiers Programme to be achieved, various orientation workshops would be organized for successful consortium and individual professionals that met the criteria of becoming an accredited certifiers.

The Permanent Secretary, Office of Urban Development, Engr. Shodeinde Nurudeen, on his own part stated that 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.

“LASBCA is a ‘One Stop Shop’ for all other agencies/parastatals of the state government involved in monitoring and enforcement of building regulations in the state.

“And in order to reduce the people’s misconception of multiple inspections, everybody will be allowed to perform their core responsibilities but LASBCA will be the sole enforcer,” he stated.

Speaking earlier to newsmen in his office, General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency, Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki, disclosed that the agency would not condone illegal construction of buildings in any part of the state.

He said the agency was fully ready to remove all buildings constructed without due government approval.

Oki was reacting to the distortion of the master plans of some part of the state by people who he described as “omo onile” selling lands earmarked by the government for roads, drainage and other purposes of public interest to unsuspecting members of the public.

He noted the government would not hesitate to remove buildings constructed on such lands.

He advised developers and land owners to always check titles of property with the state land registry before finalizing the purchase agreements.