Building Collapse: Lagos Warns Regulatory Agencies to Brace Up For Changes
The Lagos State Government has charged the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority and the Lagos State Building Control Agency staff to brace up for changes as certain lapses will no longer be condoned.
A statement signed by the Public Affairs Deputy Director of the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, noted that this was disclosed by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins, during his maiden meeting with the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority and the Lagos State Building Control Agency district officers in Ikeja.
Bamgbose-Martins pointed out that the ministry was saddled with variegated challenges, many of which needed to be addressed immediately.
According the commissioner “To enhance the quality of our services, it has become incumbent upon us to frontally address notable gaps in the LASPPPA/ LASBCA processes.
“It is by so doing that we can engender crops of well empowered field officers, improve public sensitisation of available resources and enhance feedback mechanism as well as reduce negative public perception.”
He explained that the impending change would be targeted at building positive public image through effective feedback mechanism.
Bamgbose-Martins advised the district officers of the regulatory agencies to embrace transparency and accountability in their official conducts.
He cautioned the officers to be conscious of their conduct as ambassadors of the state government in their respective districts, stressing that plans were on to encourage healthy rivalry among district offices through the application of a reward system and discipline.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on eGIS and Planning Matters, Dr. Olajide Babatunde, expressed the optimism that incessant building collapse would be a thing of the past in Lagos when the reforms being pushed begin to foothold in the state.
He highlighted that it was necessary for all district officers as operators of the system to understand and internalise the change being advocated.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Abiola Kosegbe, informed Lagosians that a more efficient planning approval and enforcement process would be propagated to help reduce incidents of building collapse to the barest minimum.
Those present at the event include, the General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Gbolahan Oki; General Manager, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, Kehinde Osinaike; General Manager, Lagos State Planning and Environmental Monitoring Agency, Daisi Oso; and General Manager, Materials Testing Laboratory, Funso Elulade.
