Lagos Physical Planning Commissioner Resigns after Another Building Collapse

Segun James

Following the collapse of a seven-story at Lekki, Lagos State over the weekend, the state’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako has resigned from office.

His resignation has been accepted by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the government confirmed in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso.

The resignation of Salako came on the heels of the collapse of another high-rise building in Lekki, coming barely a year after the collapse of a 21-storey building in nearby Ikoyi last year, in which many top officials of the ministry were severely implicated and sanctioned for dereliction of duty in report by a panel of inquiry set up by Governor Sanwo-Olu.

According to Omotoso, the resignation “is a prelude to the restructuring of the ministry and its agencies.”

Although Sanwo-Olu was said to have thanked Salako for his service to the state, the Governor, however, “warns all players in the sector to respect the law or face the consequences of any indiscretion, no matter who the perpetrators are,” which is a pointer that the government holds Salako responsible for the series of events.

Following the submission of the report of the collapse of the high-rise building the governor had ordered the indefinite suspension of the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mr. Gbolahan Oki.

Oki is however back on his seat as at the time of this report.

A white paper on the recommendation by the six- man panel set up by the Governor on the collapse of a 21-storey building on Gerrard Road had revealed that the government accepted 26 of the 28-point recommendations of the panel even as the government would be demolishing the other two structures within the promises as material test showed that they were constructed with substandard materials.

 The panel had recommended that “the developer, having been negligent, should forfeit the project site to the Lagos State Government in accordance with Section 25(4) of the Revised LABSCA Regulation 2019. The Developer, Fourscore Heights Limited should be prosecuted in view of the loss of lives involved.”

 The white paper had insisted that, “the various participants should face disciplinary action and prosecution as applicable.”