By Hauwa Ali
The Lagos State Government is set to take over the site of Ikoyi building collapse which occured last November in accordance with section 74 of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Laws of Lagos State 2019 (as amended), which prescribes that any property that collapses in the State is automatically forfeited to the Government.”
This was made known at a press briefing organised by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, and other stakeholders in building and construction, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Government Secretariat in Alausa, on Thursday.
According to Omotoso, the press conference was in the spirit of transparency for which the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration is well known and that safety would be the main consideration in the deconstruction of other structures on the site.
He said that the structures have failed integrity tests, prompting the state government to embark on a controlled deconstruction to bring them down.
He stressed that the deconstruction was agreed upon after extensive consultations with stakeholders, residents and regulators in the built industry.
The commissioner assured residents in the neighbourhood of their safety throughout the exercise, noting that measures had been put in place to ensure that the contractor maintains the agreed safety protocols.
“The deconstruction will be done with one key focus from all stakeholders; this is safety of people in the neighbourhood and everybody that will be working on the site. The recommendations of the panel are being implemented to prevent this kind of incident,” Omotoso said.
The commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, a civil engineer in his remarks, gave the assurance that reports on the deconstruction would be regularly shared with the public.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako said the government had not decided on what to do with the site after the deconstruction.
“When the state government is ready to revive the site, we will let the public know what we want to do with it. However, I can assure you that the land will not be given to any individual developer or converted to unapproved use by the Government. The site will be used for something that will be of benefit the public,” he said.
