The Nation Newspaper

Tag: LASBCA

  • LASBCA seals 20 illegal buildings

    LASBCA seals 20 illegal buildings

    For the third time in three weeks, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) embarked on an enforcement across the state.

    Last weekend, the LASBCA enforcement train berthed on the Lagos Island Local Government Area, where it toked and sealed 20 buildings for contravening building laws. LASBCA officials were accompanied by members of the Lagos Task Force.

    The did not have the requisite approvals, such as building permit, building plan approval and no building submission before their owners started work on site.

    Apart from not having building permits and submissions, the owners of the buildings had broken LASBCA seals on their buildings after they were shut, an offence that attracts N500,000 penalty. Most of the sealed buildings were three- and four-storey structures, with many erected with substandard building materials. Besides, some of them were without proper ventilation.

    Determined to beat the LASBCA officials, property owners on Lagos Island deceive the prying eyes of the agency by painting the outside of their structure leaving the interior uncompleted.

    But the General Manager, LASBCA, Olalekan Shodeinde, an engineer, said the strategy being deployed by defaulters could not work as his men were more vigilant than ever. Besides, he explained that it was no longer business as usual as the government was determined to get rid of illegal development and stem the tide of building collapse.

    He said in the past three weeks, the agency had been sealing buildings erected illegally as their owners did not obtain necessary approvals.

    “Before now, we have been civil in our enforcement, but the developers have remained recalcitrant by continuing in their illegal development. Most of these developers don’t have submission not to talk  of having permits,” he said.

    Shodeinde added that whenever a building had been shutdown, the agency’s officials toke the building so that their owners would come forward to regularise their papers, as well as pay the fines.

    LASBCA, Shodeinde said, will  not run after illegal developers, if they did the right thing by obtaining their building permits and submitting documents for approval.

    “Most of these illegal developments were done at night with substandard materials being used. They don’t get the needed permit or follow due process before erecting them. The rains are coming and you can’t stop building from collapsing when you are not building right,” he said.

    Shodeinde called on Lagosians to report any illegal development in their domains to LASBCA to avert building collapse.

    The buildings shutdown are on Freeman Street, Odunfa Street, Andrew Street, Joseph Haden Street, Kakawa Street, Olushi Street, Thomas Street, Hawley Street, Foresythe Street, Bamgbose Street, Ganiyu Street and Dumare Street.

     

  • LASBCA goes tough on building contraventions

    LASBCA goes tough on building contraventions

    •Agency prosecutes defaulters 

    Relief, albeit temporarily, came the way of the 12 people arrested at various building construction sites in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State on Saturday, when a Magistrates’ Court granted them bail in various sums on Monday.  The presiding magistrate had ordered their detention in prison custody until they were able to perfect their bail conditions.

    The 12 were arrested during an enforcement exercise carried out by the officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), led by the General Manager, Lekan Shodeinde, an engineer.

    One of the defaulters, Mr. Obina Akabor, owner of the property on No 6, Chidi Street, Ajegunle, was released upon depositing N500,000 and two sureties. He was charged with a four-count charge of breaking government seal, no approval and no building permit, among others. Prior to his arrest, Akabor had caused confusion at the scene of his arrest, threatening to break the seal placed on his property under construction by LASBCA.

    Akabor, upon sighting LASBCA officials, let all hell lose, accusing them of wickedness. “I have paid over N4 million to government for approval, yet they keep sealing my house. I will break this seal again and finish building my house; I will not stop except I die,” he threatened.

    Shodeinde, however, said while Akabor had applied for building permit, he, however, had no approval to build. Besides, he explained that what Akabor had built on his parcel of land was at variance with the drawing plan he submitted.

    “Government is not stupid. There is no sane building authority that will approve what he has built here (pointing to the house). Akabor initially put up three buildings on the land, contravening building laws; we pulled down one and asked him to stop work on another, then we sealed the premises. But what do we see here? He has two buildings standing on the land when he has no approval. There is no way we will approve this kind of construction to stand, he has to take down one of the two buildings, and then wait for approval,” Shodeinde said, adding that on more than four occasions, Akabor had broken the government seal on his house.

    But that was not the only property sealed in the community. Five buildings on Ojo Road were equally sealed. Included in this is the zonal headquarters of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). The owners of the RCCG building, a massive three-storey structure, were said to have broken the government’s seal many times after it was served ‘stop work notice’ and sealed. The Nation gathered that notice of stop work order was served the developer on November 3, 2015, followed by another on April 29, 2016. Three labourers found working on the structure were arrested.

    A shopping mall on Owokoniran Street, opposite Access Bank, Coker Bus Stop, in Ajeromi, was also sealed. Although the first and second floors of the mall are already occupied by traders, the third floor is still under construction. LASBCA officials maintained that the entire build had no approval. It was gathered that the structure had been sealed several times, with the shop owners breaking government seals; two people were arrested.

    Also, De-Golden Guest Hotel, located at 98, Opebi Street, Ikeja, was also sealed, for what LASBCA called “illegal conversion from residential building to hotel” without approval.

    A livid Shodinde told The Nation that although Opebi area had been upgraded to a mixed use area, the building in question didn’t have the requisite approval.

    “It was an existing building –  residential now converted to hotel. The side is residential terrace building. The owner broke our seal several times. They started like they were renovating the house, and later paid for the renovation permit. To our surprise, when we came, we saw a hotel, the structure has been converted to a hotel without government approval. We sealed the property, but the owner unsealed it again. That is why we are shutting it down now for illegal conversion,” the LASBCA boss explained.

    Shodeinde warned that it would be a different ball game this year  for building construction defaulters.

    “This year, we will come down hard on defaulters who remove our seals. We will prosecute anybody found on site. Once a building contravenes, anybody found on it will be arrested and prosecuted. To unseal a sealed site is a criminal offence and the penalty is N500,000,” he said.

     

  • Ambode inaugurates Lagos State Safety Arena for emergencies

    Ambode inaugurates Lagos State Safety Arena for emergencies

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday inaugurated the state’s Safety Arena at Bolade in Oshodi area to facilitate quick response to emergencies.

    Speaking at the inauguration, Ambode said the Safety Arena comprised of all the departments and agencies responsible for safety and emergency management under one roof.

    “By providing the safety arena, we are not only institutionalising inter-agency cooperation and collaboration but we are moving our emergency response mechanism to a new level with a more robust approach to emergency rescue through improved coordination and faster response time.

    “With the movement of these agencies into the safety arena, we will experience better synergy among them and a significant improvement in the response time to most safety and emergency issues,’’ Ambode said.

    The complex has the Fire Service Department; Environmental Health Department; Lagos State Ambulance Services ( LASMBUS ); State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit ( SEHMU ).

    Other agencies in the complex include, Lagos State Building Control Agency ( LASBCA ); Safety Commission; Lagos State Emergency Management Agency ( LASEMA ); Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps ( LNSC ), and the Nigerian Legion.

    Ambode restated his commitment to create institutions that would continue to serve the people satisfactorily always.

    He charged the management and staff of the environment ministry and the various agencies to continue working on the improvement, renewal and sustenance of the existing synergy among the various agencies and players saddled with the responsibility of managing safety and emergencies.

    Read also: Ambode to inaugurate LASEMA Ikorodu Road unit

    “Members of the public must not be treated inhumanly at any time your duties are being performed. We will not tolerate any professional misconduct or behaviour from our officers in this arena,’’ he said.

    The governor, however, urged residents to partner with the government in areas of effective and functional emergency response as it could not do it alone.

    “It is not the responsibility of only the government but of every individual in the state.

    “We therefore, recognise the need to continue to advocate and promote community participation in emergency management.

    “All citizens must continue to conduct themselves responsibly for us to serve you better,’’ he said.

    Earlier, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr Oluseye Oladejo, said that the complex was strategically located at Oshodi to satisfy the yearnings of the people and to further ensure continued improvement on response time.

    Oladejo said the second phase of the safety arena project had been awarded to accommodate the Lagos Command of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, Vehicle Inspection Service, Vehicle Maintenance Workshop and a Fuel Dump.

    NAN

  • LASBCA urges engineers to report safety violations

    The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has urged engineers to be whistleblowers by reporting safety standard violations resulting in buildings collapse in the state.

    LASBCA General Manager, Olalekan Shodeinde, made the appeal when the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) paid him a courtesy visit in Ikeja.

    “Whistle blowing is an avenue to give us whatever information on any structure, be it construction or reconstruction, that is structurally defective,” Shodeinde said.

    He urged engineers and concerned members of the public to call the agency’s toll free lines to give information of deviation from approved permits and approvals and other atrocities on sites capable of jeopardising safety.

    Shodeinde listed the agency’s toll free lines as 070050504040 and 07000527222.

    He appealed to APWEN to sensitise building professionals against shoddy deals, which compromise safety and standard of buildings.

    “We need floods of information. We need to get professionals to get the force behind materials to avoid safety reduction in construction,” he said.

    He said Lagos, with about two million households, was the only mega city growing horizontally instead of vertical growth.

    According to him, developments in various parts of the state usually preceded governance such that hinterlands would have been built up without requisite building approvals and permits before government would get the information.

    He said the involvement of engineers to expose atrocities in building sites was important for an all-inclusive fight against buildings collapse.

    According to him, builders on sites often shun LASBCA advice and stressed the need for constant presence of professionals on construction sites.

    He said that getting building permits and approvals was not expensive, adding that many developers deviated from approved plans to short change government thereby compromising safety.

    Earlier, APWEN National President, Mrs Felicia Agubata, and its state Chairperson, Mrs Laolu Adedapo-Aisida, said the association had embarked on career mentoring of more women into engineering in tertiary institutions to accelerate Nigeria’s technological advancement.

    Other members of APWEN delegation included, Mrs Funmi Akingbagbohun, Mrs Edith Alagbe, Mrs Atinuke Wuraola-Owolabi, and Mrs Shakira Subair.

  • We warned occupants to vacate collapsed building – Lagos official

    We warned occupants to vacate collapsed building – Lagos official

    Occupants of a three- storey building that collapsed in Apongbon area of Lagos Island on Monday failed to heed repeated warnings to vacate the house, an official of the state building control agency has said.

    LASBCA Acting General Manager, Oyewale Joseph, told journalists that the building collapsed due to weak foundation and use of substandard materials.

    Two people died, while 14 others were rescued from the debris when the building under renovation collapsed at Daddy Alaja Street in Apongbon area of Lagos Island on Monday.

    Joseph said, “Before now, LABSCA district office on Lagos Island had served all statutory notices on this very building and having served all the notices, we have also sealed the building twice.

    “Last week Friday the building in question was sealed off and all the occupants were chased out by LABSCA enforcement team.

    “The developer took advantage of the long weekend and began illegal renovation of this building. There is no renovation permit and there is no letter from the supervising engineer.”

    He said LABSCA was doing its best to ensure that all the distressed buildings on Lagos Island and within the state are under its control.

    Earlier, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr. Tiamiyu Adesina, told journalists that the prompt response by the agency led to the rescue of 14 victims alive.

    “The agency received a distress call at about 7:00 a.m. concerning the collapse which prompted the immediate activation of the agency’s emergency and other response teams.

    “The agency immediately mobilised all the stakeholders to the scene and successfully rescued 14 victims with various degrees of injury, who were immediately moved to Lagos Mainland Hospital for treatment,’’ he said.

    He advised owners and developers of buildings in the state to strictly adhere to building codes and physical planning laws to avert unnecessary loss of lives.

    A resident of 14, Daddy Alaja Street, Mr. Femi Akinde, said some occupants of the building had just returned from the early morning prayer when the incident happened.

    “It happened at exactly 7:20 a.m. this morning, 14 people have been rescued and taken to hospital while two people died but people are still trapped on first floor and the second floor.

    “People were rescued on the third and fourth floor while the second and the first floors sank,’’ he said.

    He said the house was for residential purpose but the ground floor was used for business.

    NAN

     

  • Lekki Building Collapse: Ambode sacks GM, three others

    Lekki Building Collapse: Ambode sacks GM, three others

    In the wake of the Lekki Gardens building collapse, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday approved the dismissal of the General Manager of the Building Control Agency (LASBCA) Engr. Adeigbe Olushola.

    The Governor also approved the dismissal of the Head of Inspection and Quality Control in the Agency, Adeoye Thomas Adeyemi, the Zonal District Officer in the Agency, Dosunmu Gbadebo, while the Zonal Head of Eti-Osa West of the Agency, Mrs. Akinde Adenike Sherifat was compulsorily retired from the Civil Service.

    Governor Ambode in a statement signed by the State Head of Service, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola, said the affected officers were dismissed having been indicted of negligence, which according to him, is an act of misconduct under the Public Service Rule 040401.

    Rule 040401 of the Public Service act of misconduct states inter alia: “a willful act of omission or general misconduct to the scandal of the pubic or to the prejudice of discipline and proper administration of the State Government” should be visited with dismissal from the Public Service in line with the Public Service Rule 040503.

    The Head of Service said the disciplinary measure was the outcome of the recommendations of the Personnel Management Board to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was personally grieved by the high number of fatalities that occurred as a result of the building collapse.

    She also warned public officials, private building owners or contractors who violate or subvert building regulations that it would no longer be business as usual, saying that the dismissal of the officers will serve as a wake-up call to public servants.

    “It is also a clarion call to them to be alive to their responsibilities as any act of negligence will face sanctions, while hardworking officers will be rewarded appropriately,” the Head of Service said.

    It would be recalled that on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, a building under construction at Lekki Gardens, Ikusenla Road, Ikate Elegushi, collapsed as a result of which many people died, and the State Government immediately mobilised all its rescue team comprising the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), among others, which led to the successful rescue of over 15 persons alive.

  • Raising the alarm

    Raising the alarm

    •Dilapidated buildings in barracks and religious institutions are exposed

    In the light of the recent collapse of a six-storey building under construction at The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), it is welcome to see that the Lagos State Government has decided to make pre-emptive action its watchword by raising the alarm on structures that it deems unsafe.

    In pursuance of this objective, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Dr. Abimbola Animashaun, last week alerted the nation to the difficulties it had been encountering in enforcing town-planning laws in police and army barracks, and religious institutions based in the state.

    It appears that the agency’s operatives are disallowed from inspecting or evaluating buildings in these zones and are often physically assaulted if they attempt to do so. According to Animashaun, several barracks have buildings which are clearly unfit for human habitation, given the huge cracks, crumbling balconies, blown-off roofs and other signs of profound disrepair. The police barracks located in the Iponri and Ikeja areas of the state were singled out for dishonourable mention.

    LASBCA’s assertions can easily be verified merely by glancing at many of these barracks from the outside. Such is the filth and disrepair that characterise them that it has long been a wonder that human beings of any kind, to say nothing of security operatives, can live in such insalubrious circumstances. Instead of the elevated levels of cleanliness that are ostensibly an inherent aspect of military discipline and religious faith, what is often encountered are unpainted buildings, fetid and overflowing gutters, piles of trash, abandoned cars and general disorder.

    It was indeed the sorry state of the barracks at the Police College, Ikeja (PCI) that compelled the scoop by a television station in January 2013 revealing an in-depth portrayal of its wretched situation as a prelude to remedial action. However, rather than respond accordingly, the police hierarchy and the Federal Government chose to focus on what they regarded as a concerted attempt to “embarrass” them. Given such attitudes, it is no surprise that the squalor of places like the PCI has taken a turn for the worse.

    The SCOAN disaster is a costly reminder of the terrible consequences that ensue when laws are flouted and benign neglect takes the place of regular and comprehensive maintenance. It is especially disheartening that police and military barracks as well as religious institutions would be so opposed to the enforcement of building regulations. All three bodies are supposed to be embodiments of discipline, self-control and respect for constituted authority, and cannot regard themselves as being above laws that apply to everyone else.

    The police and the armed forces are especially notorious when it comes to the lack of subordination to civil authorities. When members of both organisations are caught in the commission of offences, it is extremely difficult to apprehend them. Religious institutions seem to have picked up this bad habit as well; members of SCOAN infamously obstructed first-responders from approaching the collapsed building for almost 72 hours after the tragedy struck.

    This situation can no longer be tolerated. The Lagos State Government must work with the police, military and religious authorities to ensure that they understand the rationale behind the enforcement of town-planning laws and building regulations. It might require that a code of conduct be drawn up for all corporate bodies to sign up. Those who refuse to adhere to the law should be taken to court and legally sanctioned.

    Agencies like LASBCA must build upon the proactive stance of the state government. No construction should be embarked upon without their written permission. A comprehensive regimen of continual inspections and repeated checks should be established to ensure that unscrupulous individuals and organisations are not allowed to get away with short-cuts. Defaulters must be made to face the full weight of the law.