Lagos State Government Partners with Private Sector to Enhance Building Regulations and Prevent Collapses

In an effort to strengthen the capacity of government officials in monitoring and enforcement of building regulations in the state, the Lagos State Government, through the Office of Urban Development and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), has concluded plans to partner with the private sector in the built industry.

This collaboration is aimed at mitigating the occurrence of building collapses in the state.

The partnership, which is to be christened the “Accredited Certifiers Program,” comes as a recommendation from the Government White Paper on the report of the Lagos State tribunal of the building collapse on 44 (B, C, D), Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The initiative seeks to promote a robust public-private synergy that would help boost enforcement exercise in terms of monitoring and inspection of all on-going building constructions in the state.

Dr. Olajide Babatunde, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Electronic Geographical Information System (e-GIS) and Urban Development, stated that the main reason for the partnership is to achieve zero tolerance to building collapses in the state through robust monitoring and inspection of all on-going constructions.

He emphasized that the government cannot do the job alone and that the state is blessed with large numbers of professionals in the built environment who are ready to bring in their expertise and capacity to ensure that buildings in the state are constructed to meet international standards.

To ensure a seamless take-off of the Accredited Certifiers Program, various orientation workshops will be organized for successful Consortium and individual professionals that meet the criteria of becoming an Accredited Certifier.

Engr. Shodeinde Nurudeen, Permanent Secretary of the Office of Urban Development, stated that LASBCA is the sole enforcer of any form of building development in the State.

He added that other State Agencies and Parastatals must interface between LASBCA to reduce the people’s misconception of multiple inspections.

Arc. Gbolahan Oki, General Manager of LASBCA, warned that the agency would not condone illegal construction of buildings in any part of the state and that the agency was fully ready to remove all buildings constructed without the requisite permit.

He also advised developers and land owners to always crosscheck titles of property they seek to purchase with the state land registry before finalizing the purchase agreements to avoid falling victim to distortion of master plans by “omo onile.”