Former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has called on Lagos State government to make the sitting of the panel set up to probe the circumstances that led to the collapsed of 21-storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, public and not a secret affair, adding that the panel must be truly independent to ensure probity and fairness.
Besides, the party chieftain also demanded that members of the panel should be professionals in building construction.
It will be recalled that a 21-storey building collapsed in Ikoyi on November 1, 2021, killing over 50 people, including the developer, Mr Femi Osibona.
George, who is also the Atona Oodua of the Source, made the call at a press briefing, which took place at his Ikoyi office, saying there were various issues that were quite worrisome about the incident.
“The panel must conduct its sittings in an open, unfettered forum to ensure probity and fairness. The panel must be truly independent,” he said.
According to the elder statesman, the Ikoyi tragedy has brought forward the patent inefficiency and perhaps even complicity of the Lagos State building regulatory authority, saying “it demonstrated the obvious lacuna in the proficiency of the physical and urban planning codes.”
Chief George, while recalling that the whole Ikoyi axis was all reclaimed lands, a situation which made the colonial authorities, knowing the precariousness of reclaimed lands, predicated all building and construction designs at the storey ceiling and nothing more, while the buildings therein should be for residential, noted that all the rules that guided construction of houses in Ikoyi were flagrantly being violated.
The PDP chieftain maintained that all the rules that guide the construction of houses in Ikoyi were flagrantly being violated, pointing out that part of the assignment for the committee was to determine the structural suitability of the remaining two 15 storey buildings beside the collapsed building, even as he declared that the Gerrard disaster was avoidable only if the tools of power had been sincere, honest and discerning in their obligations to the Lagosians.
George equally raised more posers, saying part of the assignments of the panel should be to determine the land upon which the collapsed building was erected belonged as it was said belong to NITEL.
“Who bought this land? If the land was resold, who is the final beneficiary? If the Fourscore management was given approval for 8-storey structure, who changed it to 15 and then to 21? Who are the structural engineers? Which engineers conducted the soil test and other questions to determine what went wrong? he queried.
Chief George said these posers and more be probed into by the Technical Committee of Builders, engineers, architects, and jurists of impeccable distinctions, even as faulted the 6-man committee led by TPL Tunde Ayinde set up by the Lagos State government, saying it does not fit the billing and at best a gestural, patch up.
“These and more are the issues that must be probed vigorously by a Technical Committee of builders, engineers, architects, and jurists of impeccable distinctions. The Six-man committee hurriedly set up by the Lagos state government does not fit the billing.
“It is at best a gestural, patch up, calm them down affair. It will not work. It lacks the necessary tools of effectiveness that will bring answers to the festering questions that disturb us all,” he said.
“We need comprehensive answers to all that appears presently veiled. The guilty must never be spared the full weight of the law. In this wise there is a need for a fully competent team of technical and judicial officers to unravel this disaster,” he added.
Speaking on the report of the #EndSARS submitted on Tuesday to Governor Sanwo-Olu, the PDP chieftain congratulated the panel members for being bold enough to come out with exactly what they saw but quickly charged the governor to read the report, make amend and apologize to the people of Lagos, while ensuring he compensate families of those who died during the saga.
“He should read the report, make amend and apologize to the people. Let him be bold enough, do something for the families of those who lost their lives.
“He should go back and do a rethink on reopening of the Toll Gate. If there is anybody pushing him to reopen the Toll Gate, he should not listen to such advice,” he said.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune