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 thatBased 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
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