Today, Engr. Olalekan Shodeinde the General Manager of the Lagos State
Building Control Agency (LASBCA) warned building Owners and Developers to
desist from
adding other floors or structures to old and existing buildings
without obtaining necessary approvals which are given after a thorough
engineering appraisal and integrity test on the structure.
Speaking on the recent collapsed building at No. 3/5 Massey Street, Lagos
Island, Lagos, Engineer Shodeinde said the building, a four-floor structure
built with bricks, collapsed due to foundation failure when the bearing
capacity of the soil could not sustain additional structure.
The occurrence, he stated, was due to the additional load on the property
resulting from a communication mast erected on the building two weeks ago.
Engineer Shodeinde said several inspections conducted on the same
property in the past did not reveal any signs of distress even though the
structural members were constructed with gravel.
According to him, “the additional load imposed on the structure added to
the previous design capacity, as such the extra load being transferred through
the structural members made the building heavier than the capacity of the soil
which is the ultimate load bearer”.
The General Manager said that the present administration aims at
achieving zero tolerance to incidents of collapsed buildings, emphasising that
no responsible government will watch her citizens die as a result of irresponsible
acts of few violators of the law.
“The spate of collapsed buildings in recent years is a reawakening call
to the fact that both the government and the people need to collaborate more
than ever not only to eliminate the incidence of building collapse but to also
ensure that people build in compliance with physical planning laws”, Shodeinde
stressed.
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