The Lagos State chapter of the Accord Party on Wednesday described Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s revocation order on building approvals and permits as ill-advised.
The Lagos State Chairman of the party, Dele Oladeji, said that the revocation order was an arbitrary authoritarian veto, which should have been approached in a better way.
The Lagos State government has announced revocation of existing building permits and ordered builders to reapply for validation to continue construction.
The Special Adviser to the governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Olajide Babatunde, said this during a visit to the collapsed building site in Maryland, Ikeja, on Saturday.
The order follows the collapse of a building under construction on Thursday at 13, Wilson Mba Street, Arowojobe Estate, Maryland, Lagos, killing five workers.
Reacting, the party chairman said that the governor should rather tap into the expertise of professionals to address challenges of building collapse.
“The revocation order at the aftermath of a building collapse at Maryland is an ill-advised and ill-fated public policy. Governor Sanwo-Olu has to sit back to tap into intuitive brains that are abundant among Lagos residents, if he is to finish well and great,” Mr Oladeji said.
He highlighted some state government policies, which he described as somersaulting, to also include e-calling of trucks on Lagos-Epe Expressway, the Saturday monthly environmental sanitation among others.
He said that the revocation order was an arbitrary authoritarian veto, which should have been approached in a better way.
According to Mr Oladeji, the government has not done well in its duty to embark on site inspections for quality and quantity inspection as well as in its building approval adherence routine scrutiny.
“This is what led to this latest building collapse. Unilateral revocation is not the answer, just as cutting the head is not the solution to headache,” he said.
According to him, there is an urgent need for proactive, far-reaching solutions to social ills bedevilling the state.
Stating that the revocation order would not yield positive results, the Accord chairman urged the governor to hire professional and experienced consultants to look for the way forward.
He also advised Mr Sanwo-Olu to direct the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to recruit and train civil engineers.
Mr Oladeji called for the setting up of the Lagos State Building Inspectorate and Standard Enforcement that would syndicate well-staffed departments in Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas.
He said that the agency, if considered, would ensure compliance to building design and standards approved on the building permit documents.
“The LG and LCDA departments of LASBISE will oversee inspection and enforcement at all construction sites in their domains,” the party chairman said.