Lagos demolishes building, shuts 15 houses
Lagos
State Building Control Agency on Tuesday demolished a defective
two-storey building on Freeman Street, while it shut 15 others on
Herbert Macaulay, Oloto and Market streets in Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland
Local Government.
Among the houses sealed off and marked
for demolition were the Palace of the Eze Benard Orjika (Okpoko 1) and
two buildings opposite the house of a lawmaker representing Lagos
Mainland Constituency, Mr. Alao Owolabi.
Our correspondent gathered that the demolished building, which had about 36 rooms, was built 40 years ago.
General Manager, LASBCA, Mrs. Abimbola
Animashaun, explained that the building was demolished after it failed
an integrity test conducted by the agency.
She said the occupants of the building
were notified about the exercise, adding that owners of other sealed
buildings should proceed to the agency’s office for advice.
She said, “We have marked 30 buildings
in this area and among the buildings, five of them will be removed
before the end of the week. Some of them are still waiting for the
result of the integrity test from the Lagos State Material Testing
Agency and definitely we will get it soon to determine further actions.
“After notifying the occupants that the
building was not safe for them, they refused to vacate it. We have been
here more than three times and immediately they see us, they ususally
run away or hide somewhere. They should not go below the minimum
standard by using inferior materials.
“We have sealed about 1,800 properties
and there is no one to come and claim them. The owners are not
forthcoming and if there is no one to claim them, it means we have the
right to go and remove them. People should come to LASBCA, no matter the
situation, to get advice. Some of them have removed our seals and they
are going to be prosecuted.”
However, there was drama when residents
of the Eze’s palace and that of a house located at 8, Herbert Macaulay
Street, protested against sealing of their houses.
Some of the residents accused LASBCA of
bias in their mode of operation, arguing that “some buildings that are
defective were spared”.
A lady, who refused to vacate the Eze’s
palace, said, “This is totally illegal. We have done everything required
of us. We were told to conduct an integrity test and we have done that
but the government refused to give us the result and receipt for our
payment.”
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
0 comments:
Post a Comment