By Monsuru Olowoopejo

Worried by the spate of building collapse in the state, Lagos State Government, yesterday, said 41 distressed buildings were demolished in two years to avoid loss of lives.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde and the General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency, LABSCA, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun, disclosed this at the annual ministerial press briefing held in Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

Animashaun said that the prompt intervention of the agency to evacuate occupants and remove the buildings saved lives and property that would have been lost.

“In the last one year, we received 80 distressed calls from occupants of distressed buildings.

“A total of 191 buildings were approved for demolition. Of these, 41 buildings have been demolished by the agency over the past 24 months. This represents a fair percentage of the 4,099 contravention notices served during the period under review.”

She emphasized that the buildings were “distressed, dilapidated and beyond repair.”

The General Manager added that “2,226 building were sealed off for non-compliance with the building approvals. However, 444 buildings were unsealed after compliance. At least 10 certificates of completion and fitness for habitation were issued by the agency.

“We have been able to save several lives from dangerous buildings through early detection of defective and distressed buildings. In some cases, we were able to evacuate the occupants in time to save lives especially from those that later collapsed,” she added.