Bad new year gift: Lagos to demolish 50 buildings

Lagos State Government seems to have concluded plans to demolish 50 houses that failed integrity test conducted by the government on buildings in Jakande estate, in Isolo area of the state. The state government explained that the demolition of the 50 houses, consisting of two and three storey buildings became necessary after failing the integrity test conducted on them by the Lagos State Raw Materials Testing Agency after a two-storey building collapsed in the estate in November 2012, killing two sisters.
A top official of the state government said the collapse of the two-storey building led the state government to conduct integrity test on several buildings in the estate built by ex-governor Lateef Jakande 30 years ago, through the Lagos Building Investment Corporation, LBIC. To perfect the arrangement, a stakeholders’ meeting was organised by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA and was presided over by its General Manager, Dr. Femi Oke-Osayintolu.
At the meeting, the LASEMA boss was said to have told them that the buildings had failed integrity test and needed to be demolished to avert disaster, explaining to the representatives of affected residents the reason the buildings would have to be demolished.  It was gathered that modalities for compensation and resettlement were then discussed by the parties involved and it was agreed that another stakeholders’ meeting be fixed for Monday and Thursday next week to fine-tune final arrangement.
The Chairman, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Kehinde Bamigbetan, who reacted to the development, said the issue of relocation of affected residents needed to be put at the front burner to know what it would entail.   Bamigbetan noted that the issue of insurance needs to be looked at when compensating the residents, adding that residents of the affected buildings pay certain amount of money on yearly basis as insurance.