Category: Building & Properties

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Ibrahim Odumboni, has urged engineers to design bailing machines for plastic materials to make recycling more attractive and less capital intensive.

He flayed the use of brown pet bottles for packaging of plastic drinks, urging firms doing so to stick to white ones.

Odumboni stated these at a stakeholders’ consultative forum for plastic recycling, organised by Giz, a German firm, at the Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos.

He said the bailing component of recycling was vital and fabricated machines would go a long way in simplifying the process, since they “are cheaper and more easily maintained.

“Bailing is an important component of the plastic recycling process.We need our innovative and enterprising engineers, to come up with locally designed and manufactured bailing machines, that would be durable and affordable for our recycling investors. It will be easy to maintain them. If we have this, the business of plastic recycling will gradually become less capital intensive and better domesticated. This is my challenge to our local engineers and I know they can do it.

“Honestly, too, I do not understand why some manufacturers use brown pet bottles to package drinks for us to consume. Why? You do not see this in the United Kingdom or Dubai for example. What is wrong with using white transparent pet bottles? Please, such drink producers should take a second look,” Odumboni insisted.

He said no less than 500 bags of fertiliser is produced daily from organic waste at the LAWMA facility in Odogunyan, a surburb of Lagos, adding that several tonnes of briquette from sawdust are also  produced daily from another LAWMA facility at Agbowa, also Lagos surburb.

The LAWMA chief enjoined the stakeholders’, to shun needless competition and work in synergy and collaboration, to tap the huge economic opportunity in the business, noting that there was more than enough floating pet bottles, to go round all investors in the value-chain.

Odumboni took a swipe at some NGOs, exploiting the process with their cosmetic engagements, describing them as a burden, with their sharp and ill-intentioned practices, urging them to be truthful, honest and fair, in their chosen endeavour.

Also speaking, one of the panelists, executive secretary of Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance, (FBRA), Mrs. Agharese Onaghise,  noted that the 22-member group had been self-funding in its various interventions for plastic recovery, promising that the group would collaborate more, to stabilize the recycling value-chain, for fair reward to all stakeholders and investors.

The move to establish a regulatory body to oversee the affairs of such a critical segment as real estate should receive the approval of the operators to justify its existence, writes Group Business Editor, SIMEON EBULU.

The raging controversy and steep opposition to the establishment of a regulatory body for the real estate industry is not so much about the necessity, or otherwise, for a regulator, as the composition of the entity to administer it and the assigned roles of operators and professional bodies.

No doubt, there’s a point of convergence as to the need to have a regulatory entity to oversee and regulate activities in the sector.

Many professional bodies, including doctors, accountants, engineers and the media, have consented to having their associations regulated in-country, others with overseas affiliations, have bound themselves to conforming with such external rules and regulations – the aim being the need to ensure compliance with specific industry guiding rules, as well as the need to check and eliminate quackery.There’s hardly an association, or body worth its name that detests regulation and, or oversight by professionals over its assigned roles, or practise, as the case may be.

Here in Nigeria, we have a motley of regulatory bodies that have stood the test of time and have been able to demonstrate in many ways than one, that regulation of professional bodies and associations is the way to go to ensure that their members offer the services they were trained for and upon which they have entered into contractual obligations with clients and consumers of their products, or services. Examples abound.

In the insurance industry, for example, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) holds sway. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) stands ready all the time to sanction and defend its members in matters arising from complaints or accusations of misconduct  from the public, or specific cases of infractions reported by clients.The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has held itself bound to COREN’s oversight, so is CIBN when it comes to matters originating from the banking and financial services sector.The list goes is endless.

Some associations and bodies that are registered locally have offered and consented to global industry regulations, especially when they seek to become global players in their fields. It’s the way professionals go to validate their competency in the various engagements and assignments they engage in. Drawing up rules and regulatory norms guiding professional bodies is painstaking and time tested. It involves a lot of consultation and fair play.

For those who have gone through it, the process evolves from strategic engagement of the dramatis personae, with governments’ input, to ensure that there’s no self-serving interest. It’s essentially an interplay between the professional and the relevant governments agencies. That way, the objectives and set goals of the professional groups are accomplished and growth of the entity is guaranteed.

Cases abound nonetheless resulting in skirmishes where regulators, in certain cases, are equally bestowed with playing the dual role of operators.

Conflict of interest is usually the fall out in such arrangement. ICAN and Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) are cases in point. NIPOST is another.

The conflicting role of the Nigerian Postal Service and its regulatory function in the courier/delivery business sub-sector, readily comes to mind. It’s an ensuing daggers’ drawn battle that is festering between the government’s owned postal agency and the private sector courier and logistics firms over NIPOST’s rate fixing and its overbearing regulatory role.

The private courier operators have never stopped to accuse NIPOST of unfair and arbitrary ‘business-hindering’ tactics in its dealings with them. It’s simple logic that you can’t make a competitor a regulator of its members.

In the case of REDAN and the evolving controversy with real estate sector practitioners, over the build industry’s regulatory framework, the lessons of NIPOST and its affiliates should readily come into play and offer a ready guide as to the resolution of the feud, alongside the ongoing legislative agenda in the National Assembly.

A bill introduced by Senator Aliyu Wammako of Sokota State to create a regulatory organ for the real estate sector has run into a gridlock over the promotion of the Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN), over and above other operators and interest groups. REDAN, other estate agents have alleged, is favoured and surreptitiously being elevated to becoming a quasi-regulator, as the proposed law has clearly ceded the implementation and administration of a substantial portion of the sector’s proposed regulatory function to the whims and caprices of REDAN.

They say REDAN, a privately registered entity, is not different from other players.They are questioning the reason such arrangement was conceived, let alone stand.

In their resolve to right this perceived wrong, the opposing group has turned their focus to the House of Representatives and its Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, to do the needful since the Senate has acquiesced, so they affirm, to REDAN’s position, having passed the legislation in the Upper Chamber.

Good enough, the House of Representatives has given a nod to the issues raised by the opposing camp and has commenced action, to not only oppose the bill as it is, but has also promised, through its Committee, to jettison the law and begin a fresh process for a new law over the matter.Those opposing the legislation have said their objection is not against the intent of the law per se, but in some of its provisions, especially the roles being ceded to REDAN.

By the provisions of the Bill already passed in the Senate, the proposed regulator, among others,  is empowered to renew the licences of real estate developers yearly, upon payment of the prescribed fees and fulfilment of requirements as recommended by REDAN.

Also, the Council has the responsibility to register, maintain and update the register of all real estate development projects ratified by REDAN to have met set standards of Industry practices, and shall work through REDAN to monitor, investigate and sanction registered and licensed real estate developers that violate the provisions of the bill. It shall also work through REDAN to investigate and penalise unlicensed real estate developers that violate the laws.

In addition, the regulator will also prescribe fees, fines and charges to be paid – as recommended by REDAN. The proposed regulator, to be known as Council, shall have a chairman, appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of REDAN and a Secretary of the Council; who shall be appointed by the Council on the recommendation REDAN.

It goes further to say that the Minister may remove the chairman of the council from office based on the recommendation of the Council and /or REDAN, and that 10 per cent of the yearly revenue of REDAN is to be paid to the Council’s fund. REDAN, the offending entity, is ringed round every activity of the proposed regulation and that is where the issue lies.

However, the House of Reps is not favourably disposed to adopting the Senate’s position. This is as a result of protestation from other members in the real estate business. Following their objections, the Speaker of the House initiated a move to revisit the process.

The new process is being driven by  Blessing Onuh, who chairs the Ad hoc Committee that investigated the real estate sector in Abuja. Ms Onuh, after meetings with key stakeholders, has taken the position that the bill, as couched, is selfish, insisting that it should be jettisoned. “I am not against the regulation of the industry,” Ms Onuh had said, but added that the bill needs overhauling. “We need to sanitise that sector,’’ she insisted.

Not done, she said: “Notwithstanding, this bill is not it,” pointing out that “almost all the clauses are selfish and lopsided. If you are making a bill, do something that will favour the people, all the stakeholders and all the parties involved,” the lawmaker from Benue State said in a chat with Premium Times, wondering why REDAN, as an association, will seek to push for legislation that will favour the group alone.

Ms. Onuh explained that her Committee has, to no avail, tried to change some provisions of the bill, “we even thought of expunging some clauses, but in almost all the clauses, you will see the name, REDAN. being mentioned.There are other associations there,” pointing out that you can’t just give power to one to do almost everything.

“You say you want to create a council but in all the clauses,” she queried, “you will see that you have to liaise with REDAN or have REDAN recommend. They have the power to fine and charge fees and all that, and you say it is in the interest of Nigerians. ! “We had a meeting with FCTA, including the Minister, and we all agreed it is not a fair bill,” she stated.

The opposing parties have since resorted to seeking legal redress to put paid to what is viewed as a few individuals scheming to usurp powers of others that have not been expressly ceded to them. In a communique issued at the end of a consultative meeting with Ms. Onuh as Chairman of the House Ad hoc Committee on Real Estate and the Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Shehu Hadi, it was resolved  that the proposed REDAN bill is unrealistic and should be jettisoned.

The group cited over 10 clauses, which it tagged offensive, saying from the analysis of the clauses and submissions made, it is clear that the idea of passing the bill was to concentrate the regulation of real estate business as a means of production in the hands of a few individuals under the registered acronym of REDAN.

“The practical effect of the REDAN clauses,” the group argued, ”is to reduce competitors like our clients to on-lookers in the real estate business. How can the multitude of stakeholders in the estate development industry, including individuals, corporate bodies, mortgage companies, financial institutions be at the mercy of a few persons who merely incorporated a trustee years ago?” they queried, stressing that references to REDAN should be removed from the bill.

Alaro City in Lekki/Epe axis of Lagos State, leveraging latest technology is billed to deliver 96 apartments in few months, its Marketing Manager Oluyomi Ajayi, has said.

He said this is in addition to the 526 apartments built by Universal Homes, a joint venture project with his firm.

Speaking with reporters in Lagos, he said the envisaged community will be devoid of flooding as its drainage is linked to green ways which flow into drains. He added that the drainage separates the industrial, commercial and private residential areas.

On the site and service areas of the estate, he said it is a combination of infrastructure as services had been provided in each plot.

On plans for uninterrupted electricity supply, he said the estate have several power sources – thermal, green, diesel and fossil fuel.

Alaro City’s Construction Manager, Bailey Ligtas, said the city has adopted innovative infrastructure building systems that serve as benchmark for new cities.

The city has built its first 3.5km road – a four-lane, a four-metre median.  Ligtas said the road, designed by leading engineering firm, Over Arup & Partners, was the first of the four major access points from the expressway,  few metres from the gate of Alaro City.

“Alaro City is also developing an independent power plant solution by connecting to a nearby gas pipeline. Water supply for the first phase is also at an advanced stage,” he said.

Launched in January 2019, Alaro City is planned as a 2,000-hectare new city in the Northwest Quadrant of the Lekki Free Zone.

It will include industrial and logistics locations, complemented by offices, homes, schools, healthcare facilities, hotels, entertainment and parks and open spaces.

The project is a joint venture between the Lagos State Government and Rendeavour, the largest new city builder in Africa.

According to Ligtas, to ensure effective flood management, Rendeavour adopted a rain garden drainage system that not only provides a unique landscaping, but ensures the development is not afflicted by open drainage systems.

Green areas, parks and open spaces at Alaro City total over 150 hectares and form part of the drainage strategy of the city via five “greenways”. These are designed to provide an area for leisure and also carry surface water to the lagoon.

Alaro City has gained  recognition for its world-class master plan and innovation in modern city building.

Last July, the city’s master plan won the international architiser A+ Popular Choice Award, besting prestigious projects such as the Amazon HQ2 supersite in Dallas and the 5M project in San Francisco.

It was voted “Emerging Project of the Year” by PropertyPro.ng at the Africa Real Estate Awards.

CEO of Alaro City, Odunayo Ojo, said it has sold out phase one of its residential “buy-and-build” plots, with phase two underway, adding that several Nigerian, regional and multinational companies are building commercial and industrial facilities in the city.

“Alaro City lies in the growth path of Lagos and aims to serve as a model for what a modern mixed-use city looks like,” Ojo said, adding: “We have partnered renowned experts in various fields to ensure that our culture of high standards is sustained.”

Rendeavour has also been identified by experts as a key contributor to the success of the satellite city. It is building seven new cities in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo, with over 60 industries already building their businesses at the cities and over 6,000 homes in development.

It underlines the aspirations of Africa’s burgeoning middle classes, and serves as a catalyst for further urban development.

TO sanitise the building subsector, the Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), Mr Ibikunle Adaranijo, has read out the riot act to its members: The body will no longer tolerate those who give their seals and stamps to quacks for quick bucks. He said the dubious activities of the few would result in untoward consequences in the future.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of APPSN in Lagos, Adaranjo called on his colleagues to embrace the latest technology in the sector. He said Lagos State Government had done new survey mappings, which had changed the measurement parameters, thereby affecting Certificates of Occupancy (Cof O) issued about 40 years ago.

Adaranijo explained that the new survey mapping had slightly adjusted location of property which required various technological equipment for surveyors to be able to catch up with taking accurate measurements.

He said: “We realised that Lagos State Government has done another mapping. They remapped the whole of Lagos as if there is a new owner and this has changed the whole coordinates. That is why we created this new Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS),  which we are using in Lagos State and with that, there is no way we can use the old instruments that will give room to error or shoddy work in our mapping exercise. The new technology is helping us in solving the problem. We will continue to enlighten our clients and the public in general,” he added.

Adaranijo said instrument procurement scheme was one of their challenges in delivering accurate data but with the association’s partnership with instrument vendors for members to pay by instalments, their jobs much easier.

According to him, the scheme has about 45 subscribers and over 120 surveyors were accessing the CORS service from the Office of the State Surveyor-General.

Adaranijo, however, advised property owners to clarify from surveyors on how to reassess their mapping to achieve the correct coordinates for their properties. He said the association was adopting measures to ward off quacks and appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ensure surveyors were engaged in projects.

The APPSN chair called on the government to carry surveyors along in roads, housing and projects to avoid problems.

“Even when constructing bridges, surveyors must be involved because we are the ones that have the instrument and can know where the soil is sinking to avert building collapse or construction failure.

“Surveyors are the foundation of everything. If you want to construct a road, you must call a surveyor even before an engineer,” Adaranijo said.  He advised his colleagues to be ethical in order not lead the public astray and seek information to understand adjustments to property locations in the new Lagos mapping.

On the proposed Surveyors Estate, he said, the project would take off before July. He regretted that Lagos seem to be the only state nationwide where there is known Surveyors Estate.

“My main aim is for those who are still tenants to become landlords in no distant time,” Adaranijo said.

Also as part of his achievements, he gave details of the health care plan as part of the achievements of it in the last one year.

 

A GROUP, Sterling Foundation, has indicated its interest to adopt Oniru Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos to clean it.

The Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, stated this during the commemoration of the Global Recyling Day at Onisu Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos.

She said in the last one year, it has adopted four beaches – Alpha, Eleko, Lafiaji and Ibereko – to  take care of them as well as empower people through  recycling.

The Olopon of Iruland, Chief Olumide Oniru, who represented Oba Omogbolahan Lawal, Abisogun II, the Oniru of Iru Land, said no fewer than 1,000 trees had been planted around the kingdom, adding that youths had been recruited as environmental champions, to raise awareness on the prevention of plastic pollution.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Dr. Bolaji Gaji, who represented the Commissioner, Mr. Tunji Bello, stressed that the ministry had adopted one use plastic policy, urging Lagosians to commit to waste sorting at source, to limit plastic pollution.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, who led senior staff members to the event, said on the sidelines that individuals and corporate organisations should take care of the environment through waste sorting and not wait for the government to drive the efforts toward a cleaner environment.

He urged residents and beach users to come together and make a difference, by leaving an enduring legacy of people-friendly environment, for improved living and economic prosperity, adding that the beach clean-up was the first step in ensuring that coastal areas were clean.

Also at the event were the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts & Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf; and General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Dr. Dolapo Fasawe.

 

 

ANY one caught building in Lagos without approval would be sanctioned.

To this end, the state government has ordered that the building of a filling station be stopped.The station is situated at No.1 Robinson Gbagi/Benson Anoruo Street, Ajao Estate, Isolo.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Dr. Idris Salako told The Nation that the facility was being erected without any approval or stage-by-stage inspection by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) to ascertain the quality of materials used.

Hee said: “As a matter of fact, we cannot even be talking about checking for compliance against approval that was never given in the first place and this is dangerous for the built environment as the safety and structural integrity of the facility cannot be guaranteed.’’

The unapproved construction has become a growing concern for residents of the area, who have petitioned the government against its continuation.

Reiterating the importance of building right, the Commissioner emphasised that no construction should be carried out in the state without planning permits and stage certification.

He said the owner/developer of the filling station would be brought to book for ignoring warnings by LASBCA, which served contravention notices and stop-work orders on the builder.

Salako urged residents, particularly actors in the built environment, to “build right and team up with the state in her efforts to combat building collapse and vouchsafe a livable and sustainable physical environment as enshrined in the THEMES Agenda of the Lagos State Government”.

Also, the ministry has arrested three persons for parading themselves as staff members of LASBCA and embarking on development control.The commissioner noted that the impostors met their Waterloo when they posed as a government demolition gang and pulled down a disputed property in Ogombo, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state.

They have been handed over to the police while the third person, is on the run.

The Commissioner assured that the culprits would be dealt with but urged residents to report suspicious persons to the police.

He explained that the apprehension of the trio, which profited from the whistle-blowing mechanism of the ministry, would send a strong signal to others about the government’s determination to rid the sector of any illegality.

He enjoined the public to be wary of fraudsters and ascertain the identity of anyone himself parading as a public official.

He reiterated that enforcement of the Ministry usually follow a standard procedure, involving the service of statutory notices, bearing the insignia of government.

He urged Lagosians to report any observed infraction in the built environment directly to the Ministry or through the online avenues, including the Lagos State MPP&UD App, which could be downloaded on Google Play store or Apple store.

SOME homeowners at Atlantis Estate, Ikate, Lekki, Lagos have accused the developers of the 18-unit residential estate of personalising the running of the estate.

One of them, Mr Adebowale Ajayi, alleged that Samson Nnadi and Jeremiah Erondu, directors of Carter Tech Limited, the real estate development company that owns Atlantis Estate, are using their sister company, Prime Facility Limited, as facilities managers of the estate.

Ajayi said the owners refused to resolve the problems of potable water, constant staff members and security guards change, non-recognition of their residents’ association and the non-rendering of accounts.

“Their non-rendering of account to the residents and the Federal Inland Revenue Service has allegedly exposed the estate to tax evasion issues. Carter Tech Limited from the onset amended the Atlantis Estate residents’ handbook which forms part of the legal deed of assignment.

“Part of the problem is one, amending the handbook to empower PFL to manage the estate without possible replacement as contained in the original handbook. Secondly, increment in service charge without the agreement and knowledge of the assignor who PFL represents on behalf of the assignees.

“It is good to know that some residents have taken legal steps to redress the injustice in the estate, but the resident directors have resorted to using police to harass and intimidate the residents. Amid the harassment, they have gone further to bar residents from purchasing electricity token, thereby throwing a house  into darkness since August 2021.”

Corroborating Ajayi’s claim, Mr Bobo Nwandu, a home owner in the estate, said: “Of the 18 units in the estate, six landlords have moved out. My plan is to quietly park out of the estate and rent out my apartment.’’

Another home owner in the estate, who preferred anonymity, said: “Nobody in the estate is happy with the way the affairs of the estate are being run by the developers. But everybody has his or her strategy in handling the matter.

But, Nnadi and Erondu said: “Ajayi’s action is borne out of envy because he boasted to people that he is ready to pull us down because we are too proud and we don’t listen to people.

“Right from the onset, we never told him we were directors to just one company, and no law in Nigeria says you cannot be director in more than one company. Our business is based on one referrer. The estate runs on full service. You have to pay your full service charge to enjoy the services in the estate. The estate is run on the basis of ‘pay as you go’.

“Yes, we refused to recognise the Residents’ Association in the estate because about six of them out of 18 apartments came together to form the association. So, we said we will not recognise such an association.”

 

SOME experts have faulted the White Paper released by the panel that investigated the collapse of the 21-storey building in Ikoyi, Lagos, developed by Fourscore Homes Limited.

The immediate past President, Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB), Kunle Awobodu, regretted that compensation for families who lost loved ones was not part of the White Paper.

Also, he said the White Paper failed to address the methods for averting building collapse. He lamented that in the past there had been such reports without commensurate action by the government. According to Awobodu, the White Paper did not address the problems plaguing the sector. “There is, therefore, the need to identify the challenges plaguing the sector such as distressed and poorly constructed buildings. There is an urgent to ascertain if there are plans to enumerate buildings under construction especially the high rise that dot the upscale area of the city and much more to see if there are signs of tilting or other signs of distress,” he said.

On the section of the White Paper that hinted on punishing civil servants who are culpable, the former NIOB chief asked how the public would follow up on those punished.

An engineer, Mr. Sola George, urged the public to await the report of the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN). He however frowned at some areas of the report, saying it did not discuss the technical reasons for the collapse, whether a column failure or a foundation problem. He queried the technical bases for the proposed demolition of the surviving towers.

George asked if the decision was informed by serious considerations or not “This is pertinent because of the huge amount of money involved,” he stated.

The engineer recalled that in the 80s, the Cocoa House in Ibadan was gutted by fire, but was strengthened by some extensions on the sides, thereby stopping its collapse.

He cautioned that the views of other experts such as structural engineers locally and internationally that the two towers were still standing months after construction and the heavy collapse near them, is one major integrity test that should be noted.

The engineer suggested the need to monitor settlements for foundation performance and alignments of columns to check distress in the superstructure.

He said: “All other tests and measurements that do not expose the operators to undue risks can be done.”

The view or position of progress engineers need to be checked in the circumstances of a building that was designed for six floors getting to 15 floors and remaining there comfortably for months with no loud distress signs.

“The amount of money involved appears to me to be too large for the issues to be treated as trivial. The final decisions should be well informed by all available technical ideas, know-how and expertise.”

Another engineer, who didn’t want his name published, said he believed that the three towers were constructed under the same circumstances and that the reason for the collapse of one could also apply to others.

He reiterated that the report stated that the remaining two failed structural integrity tests and Messrs Prowess, the initial engineers, who pulled out of the project, stated that in their disengagement letter that they could only confirm good structural integrity for one of the buildings up to sixth or seventh floor.

He, therefore, canvassed a compelling need to pull down the remaining structures built by the same developer.

Also, a civil engineer, Afolabi Adedeji, asked for more diligence in the sector. He said those who bought off- plan had not come to ask for their cash, wondering if the sources of their invested cash was legitimate. He also wondered that no insurance firm had not come to pay claims.

He lamented that the developer wore two hats in the deal – contractor and developer.

Adedeji stated that such gigantic building could not be constructed by direct labour, signalling the absence of professionals. He cautioned that until the nation curtailed greed, it would not go far in terms of infrastructural development and in other sectors.

He urged experts to punish those found culpable in any collapsed building to serve as a deterrent.

A member, NIOB, Akinola Bammeke, said in a paper entitled: “Justice delayed is justice denied”, stated that the content of the White Paper, which is in public knowledge based on the reporting by various newspaper outfits is encouraging. He called on the need for what he called a timely accountability to sanitise the system. He lamented that over the years, there had been many investigations, inquiries, indictments but little accountability as people get away with murder.

This, he said, was because the legal redress to the injured parties was die not come on time. He suggested a system where parties could get redress within six months.

He stated that once the judicial redress system was addressed, stakeholders’ behaviour would change as they become aware that they would be held accountable.

Bammeke regretted that his profession had become an all-comers’ affairs.

According to him, while the public await the government to play its part, it is, however, necessary for the victims of the incident to get redress.

He suggested that those who lost loved ones or became impaired as a result of the collapse should be encouraged to seek damages against the developer and others involved.

It would be recalled that part of the report by the panel on the incident that claimed about 50 lives is that the firm that developed the collapsed building should be prosecuted and also the trial of civil servants who were involved in the disobedience to Urban & Town Planning laws of the land.

It also recommended that the remaining two structures constructed in the vicinity should be demolished because they failed integrity tests.

The Nation learnt that 26 of the 28 recommendations in the report were accepted by the government.

The report frowned at a situation in which Fourscore was builder and architect. For this, the tribunal concluded that Fourscore Heights was negligent.

It also recommended “evacuation of all occupants within a 45metres radius from the extreme boundaries of the blocks in the interest of public safety”.

 

 

MEMBERS of the Journalists Estate Residents Development Association (JERDA), Phase 1, Arepo, Ogun State have condemned the attacks on the arc they built on the entrance to the estate by some people in the area.

In a letter signed by Chairman JERDA Phase 1, Deaconess Olufunke Fadugba and General Secretary, Toye Olori entitled: “Unlawful invasion, criminal destruction to property and persistent threat to lives and property”, they alleged the threat to their lives, invasion and harassment by some residents of  Beachland Estate Residents’ Association (BERA).

The group alleged that BERA members and some leaders in the community not only pulled down the arc they built on the road, but also dealt with some of their members who challenged them.

In the letter to the state Governor, Dapo Abiodun and the police, the journalists stated: “They first set about the arc with axes and diggers to weaken the foundation and seeing that it was not bulging, they then drove an Ayab Truck over it to bring it down violently. The steel arc is new. It replaced the initial one that gave way for the road construction.

“The replacement of the arc was after due approval from the state Ministry of Works and under its thorough engineering supervision.

“It took strong restraint of JERDA members and some elders in the estate, for the invasion not to degenerate into full blown skirmish.”

The group added that the arc was installed on February 7, 2022, after due notice to the  Warewa Police Station and the Ogun State Ministry of Works as well as Ministry of Physical Planning, which the Works engineer inspected its installation.

However, the journalists said some community leaders, who accompanied thugs, claimed that they were acting on instruction.

They recalled that the arc was inaugurated in 2003 after an approval by the state government and that it was billed to serve as security outpost for the estate.

They urged the government and the Police to wade into the matter.

“We have made several overtures to address their perceived grievances over the years, but they have become more violent in their bid to frustrate our effort to secure lives of our members, our families and the estate.

“We will like to put the government on notice of those who have aversion to peace in this community and may be working against efforts of government to protect lives and property of citizens.  Beyond our control, the population growth in Arepo, buoyed by constant influx of young people from all parts of the country, is becoming a resting reservoir to communal violence and destruction that may thwart the efforts of the state government,” the group added.