Lagos State government has demolished 41 distressed buildings in the last two years.
Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Mr. Toyin Ayinde and the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LABSCA, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun, disclosed this at the annual ministerial press briefing held at the Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja yesterday.
Animashaun said the prompt intervention of the agency to evacuate the occupants’ and remove the buildings saved lives and properties that would have been loss.
He said: “191 buildings approved for demolition. 41 buildings have been demolished by the agency over the past 24 months (two years) of this establishment. This represents a fair percentage of the 4, 099 contravention notices served during the period under review.”
She said the affected buildings were distressed, dilapidated and beyond repair.
“2,226 building were sealed for non-compliance with the building approvals. However 444 building were unsealed after compliance. And at least 10 certificates of completion and fit for habitation were issued by the agency.
“We have been able to save several lives from dangerous building through earlier detection of defective and distressed buildings. In some cases, we were able to evacuate the building in time to save lives especially from those that later collapsed, she added.
Ayinde said the government is considering the prototype of the Makoko floating school constructed by NLE works, a Non-Governmental Organisation, to incorporate the floating school into its development.
He said the government discovered the structure after undertaking the study of development of the community; tagged ‘Houses on water.’
The commissioner noted that the aim of the government was to improve and enhance the living condition of the residents in this Makoko Community.