BY CHINYERE OBIORA – Lagos State Government says the 13 residential buildings located on Rockview Street in Ajao Estate were demolished because they were illegally constructed along fuel pipelines route.
According to the General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki, the houses, which were close to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, did not have planning permits before they were built.
Oki, who addressed the press on the development, explained that the affected buildings did not have the required approvals and were cited around Airport restricted areas while some were cited on aviation fuel pipelines.
He described the situation as a disaster waiting to happen, and expressed fear of a possible fire outbreak from the pipeline that could result in loss of lives and properties in future.
Further insisting that the builders failed to get the necessary documents as approvals for construction in that area, the LASBCA boss said the buildings were illegally constructed with clear disregard for the requirements of extant laws.
“Nobody in his right thinking mind will go and buy a plot on a pipeline and build on the pipeline”, Oki said, adding that due consultations and communications were made with occupants of the affected buildings since 2016 and they were given adequate notice and time of over eight years to evacuate the structures
In expressing concern over the spate of building collapse in Lagos, he blamed it on “attitudinal problem”, while describing the demolished buildings as a “National risk” to the airport close a situation where they are “extremely close”, together.
He stressed the fact that “no life of a Nigerian is worth being lost to the dangers that the construction of the buildings pose” to the citizenry.
