Sanwo-Olu orders demolition of three Banana Island buildings

At 310 Close, he ordered the demolition of the two-storey building because it was an illegal structure without approval.

News Agency of Nigeria • April 22, 2023

Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has ordered the demolition of three two-storey buildings in Banana Island following the collapse of a seven-storey building in the area.

Mr Sanwo-Olu gave the order on Saturday during his visit to the site of the collapsed seven-storey building and inspection of other infrastructure around the Island.

At 310 Close, he ordered the demolition of the two-storey building because it was an illegal structure without approval.

Also, at 306 Close, the governor ordered the removal of two-storey buildings adjacent to each other because they were constructed under the powerline and under water.

While speaking at the site of the collapsed seven-storey building, he blamed the unfortunate incident on the irresponsibility of the developers and some of the citizens that just wanted to make quick money.

Mr Sanwo-Olu also blamed the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) for allegedly granting an extension of the line of Banana Island.

He said the incident showed the Lagos State building officers are not alive to their responsibilities, and officers found culpable will also be sanctioned.

“We are at the site of the last unfortunate building collapse in Banana Island Lagos. Like it has been reported before, there has been a lot of investigation that is going on right now, and you can see that they are still clearing the rubbles at the site.

“We have given the order to stop work, not only at this site but also in all of the construction sites in Banana Island.

“You can see that the original line for Banana Island is not even where we are. It’s way in front there, and you can see that there are several extensions that have been granted by both the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and NIWA.

“These are the two federal agencies that have been culpable for those extensions.

The governor said an external seven-member committee had been set up with a two-week mandate to independently ascertain what had gone wrong.

He said the outcome of the committee would further strengthen the government to develop a robust work plan that could be enforced going forward.

(NAN)

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