The Lagos State Assembly has supported 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.
In an interview with Assembly correspondents in Ikeja, the House made this known through its Chairman, House Committee On Information, Strategy and Security, Mr David Setonji.
Mr Setonji 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 collapsed building.
While commiserating with the victims’ families, Mr Setonji said the House Committee on Physical Planning had been working on getting to the root of what caused the incident, saying that it was regrettable that people disobeyed laws.
He said that it was wrong for anyone in the state not to fulfil all required to engage in the 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.
On Monday at about 3 pm, a 21 storey building collapsed at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi and that over 25 persons were trapped, including the owner of the building.
Meanwhile, Governor Sanwo-Olu had set up an independent panel to probe the incident and suspended the General Manager of LASBCA indefinitely.