The Lagos State Government {LASG} says that it has been putting measures in place to nip in the bud the incidents of building collapse in the state.

The Commissioner for Housing, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.

Lawal said that the ministry had been carrying out integrity tests on residential and commercial buildings regularly to avoid a recurrence of building collapse.

He also said that the state government had employed engineers to strengthen its workforce for effective monitoring of buildings in the state.

The commissioner added that both the old and new staff members had been going on regular training to be in tune with the latest developments in the various fields.

Lawal said part of the job of the monitoring team was to ensure no building work could go on at night at any building sites, as such activity would attract penalty.

“If the government discovers that any developer is building at night or observes that any building does not comply with the building code, such will be brought down.

“This law is in place and once it is infringed upon, the offender will be prosecuted as soon as he or she is caught.

“The state government will take over such property in case of building collapse, while the engineer handling such project will lose his or her licence.

“We have two cases involving building collapse currently in court,” he said.

Lawal advised building professionals to stick to the laws of the state to save lives and properties.

The commissioner also said that there was the state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development responsible for enforcing all the building codes in Lagos State.

“It ensures that builders and developers comply with the building code from their foundation levels up till when they will be completed.’’

Lawal said that at every stage of construction at a building site, there would be an approval to certify that the work being done complied with the building code.

He said that it was part of the mechanisms put in place by the state government to end building collapse in the state.

“We also have e-physical planning permit to check and test the materials on sites for building.

“Lagos State is a city/state with loads of institutional structures that will make it difficult for quacks to strive in the building industry, “he said.

He said that the ministry was also expected to certify completed buildings as being fit for living after completion.

Lawal also said there was no more hiding place for quackery and the use of substandard materials in the building industry in the state.

He said that the officials from the relevant ministries and representatives of professional bodies in the building industry usually monitor the activities of building and site engineers.

“There is no hiding place for quackery in the building industry as all professional bodies have regional and district offices across the state for easy monitoring,’’ he said.

The commissioner also said that some states had been visiting Lagos State to understudy what they were doing and how they had been successful with it. (NAN)

SOURCE: NEW TELEGRAPH