Residents Urge Lagos State To Improve Pre-building Regulation

Some residents of Lekki Garden on Thursday urged the Lagos State Government to improve on its pre-building regulation to avoid recurring cases of building collapse.

The residents said such a measure would prevent avoidable incidents which often claimed lives.

They spoke against the backdrop of a move by the state government to carry out integrity test on buildings constructed in the state by a developer, Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited.

A five-storey building being handled by the developer on Kushenla Road, Ikate Elegushi, Lekki, collapsed recently and the state governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, subsequently ordered an integrity test on the structures constructed by the firm.

But the residents said rather than dissipating energy on the test, the government should improve on its pre-building regulation.

One of them, Dr. Samuel Dachi, said the planned integrity test was surprising because such an exercise could only be carried out on buildings under construction.

Dachi felt the government should have carried out such test on houses built by the company, which have not been completed.

He said much as the residents appreciate the determination of the government to protect the residents of the Lekki Gardens, it should not be used as intent to condemn other houses.

He said, “Before some of us bought our property here, we brought in experts who advised us accordingly. Over the years, we have been here and there are properties owned by the same company in other locations but nothing has happened to them. What happened a few weeks ago was an accident and it can happen anywhere.”

Another resident, Mrs. Cecilia Agbeluyi, shared Dachi’s view. She said an effective pre-building regulation would save lives.

Agbeluyi, however, hailed Ambode for his interest in protecting lives and property in the state.