Ikoyi Collapse Building: Lagos Assembly Backs Sanwo-Olu On Suspension Of LASBCA MD

The Lagos State House of Assembly has backed the decision of the governor of the state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu to indefinitely suspend the General Manager of the State’s Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mr Gbolahan Oki over the collapse of the 21 storey building at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi.

The House made this known through its Chairman, House Committee On Information, Strategy and Security, Hon. Setonji David in an interview, while reacting to the incident.

David said that the incident was a sad one and that the state government has taken it very seriously by calling for the probing of the collapse building.

While commiserating with the families of the victims, David said the House Committee on Physical Planning has been working to get to the root of what caused the incident, adding that it was regrettable that people do not obey laws.

He said that it was wrong for anyone in the state not to fulfill all that were required to engage in building before embarking on it, adding that developers must adhere strictly to the building guidelines and regulations.

The lawmaker said that the House would not rest on its oars until necessary steps were taken to avoid recurrence in the state.

He tasked developers to engage professional structural engineers in the supervision of their buildings, adding that quality materials should also be used when building.

It would be recalled that on Monday at about 3pm, a 21 storey building collapsed at Gerrard road, ikoyi and that over 25 persons were trapped including the owner of the building.

In an update on the situation at the site of the collapse, the Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho disclosed that a total of nine persons, all males, had been pulled out of the rubble alive and taken to the hospital.

He expressed sadness that a total of 14 dead bodies had been brought out as at 2pm on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Sanwo-Olu had setup an independent panel to probe the incident and suspended the General Manager of LASBCA indefinitely.