PUNCH
Following the collapse of a two-storey building that claimed the lives of five construction workers at Arowojobe Estate, in the Maryland area of Lagos State, the General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Gbolahan Oki, has banned people, particularly labourers from sleeping at construction sites in the state.
Oki gave the directive in a statement signed by the agency’s Director of the Public Affairs Unit, Olaoye Olusegun.
The statement read in part, “Henceforth, nobody should be found sleeping in any building under construction after the close of work, especially at night. LASBCA officials will be inspecting construction sites across the state, especially at night, to ensure that nobody is sleeping inside any building under construction.
“Construction period in the state remains from 7 am to 7 pm Monday to Saturday excluding Sundays. Henceforth, any property developer or owners who engage workers to carry out construction work on Sundays and beyond 7 pm on Monday to Saturday will have his or her property sealed indefinitely.”
Oki also directed property owners and developers to engage only professional structural, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers and architects for their building projects in the state, adding that building project sites that failed to engage professionals would be sealed and possibly removed.
“This directive becomes necessary to safeguard the building construction industry and ensure that buildings in the state are safe, secure, and fit for habilitation,” the statement added.
