The Lagos state Government has said it would start closing down buildings under construction in the state that are not supervised by relevant professionals in the built environment.
This was disclosed on Monday by the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki while setting up an ad-hoc task force to enforce the directive in his office in Ikeja.
Oki said the state has observed with dismay the non-involvement of relevant professionals in the built environment in building constructions in the state and has therefore directed that property owners and developers all over the state must ensure that all relevant professionals in the built environment such as structural/civil, mechanical, electrical engineers, builders and architects are fully engaged in their building projects.
The General Manager stated that henceforth, LASBCA would be visiting building sites and any site that flout this directive to engage building professionals who specialize in the design, construction, maintenance and management in their construction projects will have such site sealed and possibly removed.
“Arc. Oki added that the directive becomes necessary to safeguard the building construction industry and to ensure that buildings being constructed in the state are done only by professionals who can vouch for their safety and fitness for habilitation.
“He advised that developers and property owners must ensure that they engage only relevant professionals with current practicing license of their professional associations with sworn affidavit of attestation of supervising such building.
“The General Manager stressed the need for Lagosians to comply with Building Codes and Regulations to curb the menace of building collapse in the State and avoid unnecessary loss of lives,” a statement by LASBCA said.