New report has shown that the 21-storey building that collapsed today at Musikiu Junction by Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos state, was sealed by the State government last year for lack of “approvals from required quarters”.
Unfortunately, construction work continued until it collapsed today, November 1, at about 1:30 pm with at 4 people confirmed death, 4 rescued alive and several others still trapped under the rubbles.
Read Also: Ikoyi: Four Dead, Four Rescued With At Least 50 Others Trapped Under Collapsed 21-Storey Building
The structure was designed as a three-tower estate (360° Degree Towers). The collapsed section is one of the three towers.
The main contractor for the project, FourScore Homes, is owned by Femi Osibona, a UK-trained estate developer.
In July 2020, The Capital reported that Sanwo-Olu sealed the Gerard, Ikoyi high-rise as findings showed that;
Lagos State Government is miffed with the property developers and owners for embarking on such a project without subjecting it to procedural approvals from the state government and other authorities vested with the mandate to ensure compliance with standards and quality. In other words, the massive project has been sealed for lack of approvals from required quarters, as Lagos State Government has risen stoutly and promptly to halt the gargantuan project.
At the time, a source was quoted as saying that the State Government took the action to seal the building in order to ensure that what happened with Lekki Gardens Estate when its on-going six-storey building collapsed on March 8, 2016 would not be witnessed again in the state.
The source at the time told the publication said;
It is unheard of that the owners of the Ikoyi project in question would embark on such a capital intensive project without obtaining required approvals for a project as massive as that.
Gone are the days of negligence on the part of the government when people flout the law. Sealing up the project is law taking its due course.
The owners of this project have shown themselves to be defiant and obstinate, in that the state ministry of Land and Physical Planning had been calling on them to without paying attention to what the ministry had been calling their attention to.
It added;
It does not benefit the state to stop economically viable projects like the project on Gerrard Road in Ikoyi, but the responsibility falls on the government that all rules and regulations guiding such buildings are strictly adhered to.
What the government has done is to halt further construction with a view to assessing and evaluating the extent to which the builders had adhered to the building code. The state will take it up from there.
The government will not fold its arm and watch people behave recklessly without order and accountability. We are talking about people’s lives here. The state will no longer tolerate such attitude from anybody no matter how highly placed they may be.
Read Also: Ikoyi Building Collapse: Sanwo Olu Calls For Calm, Orders Probe
Meanwhile, rescue mission is still ongoing at the scene of the tragic collapse, as at the time of filing this report and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has ordered a probe of the incident.
