The Lagos State Government has taken steps towards the immediate implementation of the report submitted by the Tribunal of Enquiry into the collapsed building on Gerrard road, Ikoyi last November.
Shortly after receiving the report of the Tribunal at the Lagos House, Alausa Ikeja, Governor
Babajide Sanwo-Olu constituted a four-man committee headed by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Tayo Bamgbose-Martins with a charge on members “to get back to the State Executive Council by the end of next week”
Other members of the committee are, the State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola; Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo and his Agriculture counterpart, Ms. Abisola Olusanya.
Governor Sanwo-Olu commended the Chairman of the Tribunal of Enquiry, Mr. Toyin Ayinde and other members for their commitment and quick response to the assignment given to them.
“Let me on behalf of the people and the government of Lagos State first acknowledge the very difficult task that has been passed on to you and the commitments and the quick response that each and every one of you gave to the assignment. We know that you all have been chosen from different professional backgrounds but you were indeed ready to serve the people for this very important assignment.
“Let me therefore commend and thank you for that exercise. I will be constituting a four-man committee almost immediately that will read through the report and I am giving them the end of next week to get back to the State Executive Council,” Governor Sanwo-Olu said.
While handing over the Tribunal’s report
and electronic recordings of all the sections and videos of proceedings
to the Governor, Mr. Ayinde expressed hope that the findings and recommendations made would bring a lasting solution to incidents of collapsed buildings not only in Lagos State but nationwide.
According to Mr Ayinde, the panel which handled the assignment in six weeks, visited the collapsed building site, conducted 35 interviews, interrogated 91 persons, requested and received 21 memoranda and accessed the home of the late CEO of Fourscore Heights Limited, Mr. Olufemi Osibono, owner of the collapsed structure with a view to gathering useful documents.
“The tribunal had the opportunity to access the home of the late CEO of Fourscore Heights Limited in the presence of members of his family, where some documents that were scanned helped in gaining further insights into the case, particularly the processes that led to the construction and eventual collapse.
“The tribunal also hosted the representation of the developer’s company, comprising two legal firms. It is on record that in their first and second appearances, the lawyers expressed the fact that they were external lawyers to the company and had little knowledge about the case in hand.
“Having spent approximately six weeks on this assignment, we need to note however that building collapses is rooted in the collapse of values, morals and ethics, which we need to work on as a nation. We cannot sow the wind and not expect to reap the whirlwind. Therefore, ethics and due diligence need to be restored.” He said.
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