Ikoyi Building Collapse: ‘Such Incident Shouldn’t Be Happening In Lagos’ – Sanwo-Olu

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has condemned the actions that led to the collapse of a 21-storey building in the Ikoyi area of the state.

During a visit to the scene of the building collapse on Wednesday afternoon, Sanwo-Olu stated that the incident happened due to “mistakes made from all angles”.

The governor stated that collapse could be described as a national disaster, adding that such a sad incident should not be happening in the state.

While condoling with the families and people who lost loved ones in the incident, the governor promised that those found culpable will be made to face the law.

The governor, however, disclosed the names of the members of a panel of inquiry constituted to probe the building collapse.

He said: “This is an event that could be described clearly as a national disaster. Mistakes were made from all angles and such an event really should not be happening in a modern-day city like Lagos.”

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State at the scene of the Ikoyi building collapse (Image: Channels TV)

The governor said that the indefinite suspension of the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki, was just a first step in the quest to hold those responsible to account.

He said: “We will say that we had to take from the head; from the leadership of that agency.

“And you can rest assured that if they are other people that are found in the course of the investigation, they will face the full wrath of the law.”

Sanwo-Olu also decried the violation of the National Building Code in the construction, adding some mistakes were made during the construction of the building.

He said: “I will not have the details but from preliminary investigation, yes, there would be violations. The simple thing such as not having a manifest on site is a violation of the law in itself. So, there are several violations that would have happened here.

“Unfortunately, what we have seen in the last 48 hours is that we do not have the manifest of everybody that was on site which is against the law.

“On a daily basis, you are meant to have a manifest of everybody that is working in construction (site). There is no manifest.

“And unfortunately too, it’s also been very difficult for us to identify or for anybody to come forward as, maybe a project manager or a staff of the developer or contractor.”