FG, corrupt Lagos officials to blame for Banana Island 7-storey collapsed building, says Sanwo-Olu
Ayodele Olalere
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday, said the federal government and some corrupt officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency should be held responsible for the seven storey building that collapsed on First Avenue in Banana Island, Ikoyi on Wednesday.
The governor indicted the federal government when he paid a visit to the scene of the incident.
According to him, the visibly angry governor said the approval was given to the developer by the federal government in connivance with some corrupt officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, adding that the collapsed structure along other three under construction on the land was built on an expanded landed space without the knowledge of the state government.
He added the land was not originally part of the approved lands in Banana Island for building construction and as such no construction should have been carried out on the land.
“There have been a lot of investigations going on. We have seen the extent of unapproved expansion into the water. There have been several extensions approved by the Federal Ministry of Works without our knowledge,” he said.
He added: “The illegality is real, this is total recklessness. Any of our officers found culpable will be dealt with. We have established a seven man external committee to determine what happened. It’s heartbroken each time we have to go through this. We had to change staff often but we will continue to do what we have to do,”
The governor also inspected other ongoing building construction in the Island to ascertain the level of compliance.
After inspecting the buildings, he ordered for the demolition of some of the buildings under construction. He lamented that some of the buildings that had earlier been demolished by the state government have been reconstructed without the government’s permission.
He was accompanied by Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins, Special Adviser on Works, Adeyoye Aramide, and other top aides.
