By Kingsley Adegboye

In spite of the efforts of Lagos State Government and other concerned organisations to bring the incidents of building collapse in the state to the barest minimum, occupants of public buildings in (such as Barracks) with structural defects are not cooperating with the government to achieve a building collapse-free state.

The General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency LASBCA, Mrs. Bimbo Animashaun who disclosed this at a recent interactive session with the media said her Agency which is saddled with the responsibility of enforcing building control regulations and the implementation of the 2010 Physical Planning, Urban Development and Building Law, has identified many partially collapsed buildings in Police Barracks and other public places.

Mrs. Animashaun regretted that all effort to make the occupants of the structurally defective buildings to see reason and vacate the houses for necessary corrective measures to avert their imminent collapse, have fallen on deaf ears.

Describing some premises as empires because of their exclusive nature to members of the public, Mrs. Animashaun revealed that several of such premises have structurally defective buildings that cannot be seen from outside.

He lamented that the owners of such premises will never cooperate LASBCA officials even if there are clues that illegal construction activities are going on within their premises.

Decrying the lack of cooperation from defiant developers, she noted gave instances where her Agency had sealed up some sites for not adhering to building regulation only for the developers of the sites to remove the seals on their premises and continue with work.

For the enforcement of the state building regulations to be effective, the Agency, she said, has concluded plans to hire the services of approved building inspectors who will be assigned to construction sites to monitor construction activities and ensure that the right things are done by developers.

According to her, a developer must obtain development permit from the State Physical Planning Permit Authority, LASPPPA, adding that the development permit authorises construction and is valid for two years.

To obtain this permit, a building development plan portraying the intended uses and the proposed development on the site and the effect on adjacent developments and neighborhood must be prepared by a professional.

“Legally, a pre-approval inspection is required. This on-site visit is made to verify that the land is located where the owner has said it is, also to check whether construction has not already started. There is no need for the owner to be there during that visit. For construction involving a structure of more than two floors the developer or owner, shall at the time of submitting his application to commence building works to the Building Control Agency, hire an engineer”, she said.

On the the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010, she said the law gives the Building Control Agency the power to carry out inspections of buildings under construction when necessary.

The functions of LASBCA include: the inspection of building works and the certification of various stages of building construction and keeping of such records; removal of illegal and non-conforming developments; identification and removal of distressed buildings to prevent collapse and; the issuance of certificate of completion and fitness for habitation.