The Lagos State Government has said that there will be strict enforcement of laws against distressed buildings. They have also called on property owners to carry out immediate integrity tests or risk demolition.
The General Manager, Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL), Dr. Afolabi Abiodun, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that property owners, who did not ascertain the structural stability of their buildings, risked sanctions.
He advised construction companies, developers, estate agents, builders and other stakeholders to comply by testing their construction materials, ongoing and completed buildings to avert risks.
He said that enforcement would be more proactive in line with the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s zero tolerance for building collapse, saying that using the right materials would prevent construction failure.
“Enforcement has taken a new toll in Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory now. Before my arrival, there was no enforcement and that is why I say there is a new Sheriff in town to unleash the law of the agency on all distressed buildings.
“There is need for those who have completed their buildings to do the Non-Destructive Test (NDT) and this test which we call the NDT is to be done every five years,’’ he said.
He stressed that the agency had begun a massive awareness campaign to sensitise the public and equally educate artisans on dangers of compromising quality of building materials.
Abiodun explained that he has had several meetings with Association of Block Makers and had embarked on enforcement visits to quack block producers not using the right proportion of mixtures for production. He said that several block makers had been sanctioned in Alimosho and Ikorodu local government areas, saying that the quality assurance enforcement was ongoing and would reach all parts of the state.
He added that the agency was operating on the Standard Organisations of Nigeria (SON) requirement and was making deliberate efforts to ensure building professionals complied to eliminate quackery.
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