Lagos State governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday visited survivors of the collapsed building which occurred in the Itafaji area of the state on Wednesday.
He was accompanied on the hospital visit by his deputy governor-elect, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.
Sanwo-Olu, who also visited the site of the collapsed building on Lagos Island to assess the rescue operations and sympathised with the residents who lost loved ones in the tragedy, commended the efforts of emergency and rescue workers.
A product of Lagos Island himself, Sanwo-Olu lamented the loss of lives in the incident, which, he said, could have been prevented if the owner of the collapsed structure had not flouted the state building codes.
The incoming governor personally engaged some residents to get first-hand information on how the three-story structure came down.
Some of the residents bared their minds on the incident with allegations that building developers in the area were fond of using sub-standard materials on the property they manage, urging the incoming governor to carry out an audit on all buildings in area when he assumes office.
The residents also told Sanwo-Olu that complaints were lodged at the local government office and ministry of physical planning about defective structures in the area prior to Wednesday’s collapse, alleging that building developers usually bribed government officials to look away.
“I am personally terrified that we lost lives in this incident, because it is something that shouldn’t happen. I urge all government agencies that are involved in ensuring standards on buildings to speed up their tasks to prevent a repeat of this tragic incident.
“These agencies should go out and check if there are still buildings across Lagos that have compromised. This is the rightful thing to do now. We should not wait till we see fatalities, such as we witnessed in this incident. Sanctity of building approvals is important and critical to ensuring we prevent this kind of event in the future,” Sanwo-Olu responded.
