The Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA yesterday commenced the demolition of 57 distressed buildings across the metropolis in a move to stem the tide of collapsed buildings in the state.
It was learnt that, 34 of the buildings being demolished are on Lagos Island. About 13 of such buildings were demolished yesterday in an exercise that would last for two weeks. General manager, LASBCA, Lekan Shodehinde said that the agency had identified 114 distressed buildings across the metropolis, adding that the others would be pulled down in the second phase of the exercise.
He explained that once a distressed building had been demolished, the owner would be given 90 days to pay the demolition cost or forfeit the land to government, adding that the demolition was under the first phase of the demolition of distressed buildings approved by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
According to him, the owner of a distress building would is usually given time to address the defect, including an integrity test on the building before demolition. Officials of LASBCA, escorted by armed policemen stormed the Island yesterday morning to begin demolition of the affected buildings.
He stated that government would no longer wait for owners of distressed buildings to remove them on their own as experience had shown that such owners do not always remove such structures.
He said before a building would be demolished, the owner would be given ample time to remedy the situation, which included subjecting the property to integrity test.
The LASBCA General Manager stated that if after the test had been carried out and the property was found to be unsafe, it would be demolished