Lagos Set To Demolish 102 Distressed Buildings

The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Tuesday, said 102 out of about 500 identified distressed buildings in the state have been marked for demolition.

The state also advised all tenants/occupiers of the structures to evacuate immediately, as demolition would commence after the expiration of a seven-day notice already issued.

The General Manager of the agency, Biola Kosegbe, disclosed this to newsmen in Ikeja, stating that the affected buildings had been published in the national dailies by the agency.

Kosegbe said the distressed structures would be removed by LASBCA, having served all the statutory enforcement notices in accordance with the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010 and with no response from the respective owners/developers.

According to her, the public notice was the final warning from the agency to the owners/developers, stressing that if the distressed structures are not removed within seven days of the publication by their respective owners/developers in line with regulatory provision of the law, the structures would be removed by the agency and the cost would be borne by the owners.

He explained that the decision was taken after a thorough engineering appraisal and monitoring of the distressed buildings, carried out by LASBCA, with a view to ensuring better physical planning environment for sustainable development and averting needless loss of lives and properties.
She lamented that some residents had shown disregard for the state laws on building construction in the past, which the resultant effects were worrisome.

She appealed to building owners and developers to desist from adding additional floors to old existing buildings without carrying out a thorough engineering appraisal, integrity test on the building and obtaining necessary permits from the relevant authorities.