…New Code To Halt Incessant Building Collapse
To achieve high-performance standards in line with the sustainable Smart City ambition, the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration has disclosed readiness to get a brand new Building Code for the state next year.
The new Building Code, as read in a statement by Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, will, among other things put an end to issues of incessant building collapse in the State.
This is as the Governor explained that it will among other things; engender the much-craved standardisation of building practice, ensure quality control in terms of the use of building materials, as well as manpower and skills development for practitioners in the state’s built sector.
Disclosing this Wednesday during the Lagos State Executive Council Retreat on the Domestication of the Lagos Building Code, Governor Sanwo-Olu emphasised the need for more collaboration among all the ministries and agencies in the built sector, to ensure the state’s development in line with global best practices.
He added that the motive behind the Lagos Building Code is to have a building regulation that would make Lagos much more resilient.
“We (Lagos State Government) are the first to domesticate the National Building Code, which is the creation of the Federal Government. We are not doing anything outside the vision at the sovereign and sub-sovereign levels.
“But what is unique about our own is the fact that all the cabinet members see the need to have an input because it would be an outcome that would affect lives and different ministries and agencies. So, there is a need for everybody to have a say, and at the end of the day, collectively we will resolve to have a way.
“What we are trying to do is for Lagos State to do what is obtainable internationally: have a building regulation in which we have a standard of construction in design, manner of land use occupancy, and use of building materials, which we believe would eventually improve and help with health, safety, and occupancy issues.
“It is all about building sustainably, making Lagos a lot more resilient and able to absorb shock in the future and able to stand in the comity of developed cities and city-states as we see in various parts of the world.” He enthused.
In his address at the event organised by his Office, which held at Ikeja GRA, Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde stated that the Lagos Building Code is to complement the existing regulatory framework and provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of land use, physical development, and urban planning.
Babatunde said the Lagos Building Code will regulate building control, planning permission, and address the issues of setbacks; take care of the safety and sustainability of the environment; and also prevent the collapse of buildings.
“We have been working on the domestication of the National Building Code, and by next year, we are going to have our own brand-new Lagos Building Code.
“We have worked with professional bodies and people from academia, market women, and the public in general, and through a participatory approach, we are able to come out with a document that is acceptable to everyone and useful to the entire state,” he said.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Engr. Olufemi Daramola, described the Lagos State Building Code initiative by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration as the next step to Green Lagos that will enable the state to plan buildings properly and ensure durable infrastructure in the state.
During the retreat, members of the Lagos State Executive Council brainstormed and advocated aggressive sensitisation for residents of the State on the Lagos Building Code before implementation.
