Don’t operate without safety compliance certificate – Lagos govt warns club centres

Lagos State Government has warned that club centres would not be allowed to open and operate without getting safety compliance certificates.

While easing lockdown on social club houses, the state government said it has started physical verification and issuance of safety compliance certificates to social clubs and centres in the State.

Speaking on the exercise, the Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, commended the level of compliance with stipulated safety guidelines by most of the clubs visited, adding that it was vital to ensure that all issued directives, especially on physical distancing and proper hygiene, are fully embraced by those facilities.

He declared that the Commission has started issuing provisional Safety Compliance Certificates to some social clubs that have registered and had their locations verified, urging business owners who are yet to comply with the ‘Register-to-Open’ policy to do so.

“It will be in the best interest of all Social, Event and Betting Centres, Bars, Night Clubs, Gaming Arcades, Casinos and all the businesses captured under the ‘Register-to-Open’ initiative to do so in earnest, in order to allow the verification process to take place,” Mojola said.

The Director-General, however, sounded a note of warning that centres, whose registration and verification have been completed, are not allowed to open until an announcement is made by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the effective date for opening social centres.

While maintaining that the only way to flatten the curve of COVID-19 pandemic in the State is through collective efforts with all stakeholders, Mojola enjoined all business owners in Lagos to cooperate with the State Government in ensuring that all safety guidelines are strictly adhered to.

Some of the social clubs/centres already visited by the Safety Commission team included Ikoyi Club, Lagos Motor Boat Club, Lagos Polo Club, Ikeja Country Club, Lagos Jetski Club, Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Yoruba Tennis Club and Ikeja Golf Club, amongst others.