Lagos State Government has ordered that all development projects in the highbrow area of the State be placed on hold.
This followed the collapse of a 7-storey building under construction on First Avenue, in the Banana Island area of the State.
The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, in a statement on Thursday, said the process was to ensure that a comprehensive audit was done by officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency.
He explained that the directive was to enable the Government determine the number of buildings being constructed without approval in the highbrow area and also know if all the approved buildings were being built in line with the approval limits provided.
“The Lagos State Government has launched a probe into the collapse of a seven-storey building under construction on Banana Island, Ikoyi, following a directive by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu,” the statement said.
Omotosho said preliminary investigations revealed that the collapse occurred during concrete casting, noting that eyewitnesses said one of the concrete mixer trucks rammed into some load-bearing columns of the building, causing a loud bang and leading to the collapse.
“The building was hitherto sealed by the Lagos State Government for not having the approval to commence construction, but the developers continued to build, hiding under the security of their estate/gated Community,” the statement added.
