The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako has resigned his position. The resignation is coming 24 hours after the collapse of a seven storey building under construction in Victoria Island Lagos.
BASIC FACTS
- Dr. Idris Salako has resigned his position commissioner Physical Planning and Urban Development.
- The resignation was confirmed by the commissioner for information in the state.
- His resignation is following the repeated building collapses in Lagos State.
WHAT WE KNOW
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako, has resigned his appointment.
Idris Salako’s resignation comes barely 24 hours after a seven-storey building caved in, killing at least five persons with fears that more bodies will be recovered from the site.
Salako’s resignation was confirmed in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, on Monday.
Mr. Omotosho, however did not say if the commissioner is directly related to the collapse building nor did he confirm if the resignation was voluntary.
However, the Information Commissioner, Gbenga Omotoso said the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, accepted Salako’s resignation.
Omotoso explained that the governor’s acceptance of Dr. Salako’s resignation will be followed by a restructuring of the ministry and its agencies.
According to the information commissioner, Governor Sanwolu, equally warned all players in the sector to respect the law or face the consequences of any indiscretion, no matter who the perpetrators are.
As at now, the cause of the collapsed building is not known. However, rescue work is still ongoing, even as five persons have been confirmed dead.
NOTABLE QUOTE
In the statement, the information commissioner said, “The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has accepted the resignation of the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako,”
“Governor Sanwo-Olu also thanked the commissioner for “his services to the State and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
COMMENTARY
Recall that Clariform Newsdesk reported the collapse of a seven storey building under construction in Victoria Island Lagos, yesterday Sunday.
We also reported the government order for the arrest of the developer and other professionals who were working at the site of the collapse building.
Recall that building collapse has become common place in Lagos State. The most recent building collapses includes the horrific collapse last November of a high-rise building, in highbrow neighbourhood of Ikoyi.
The collapse of the over 20 storey building under construction at Alexander Road, near Banana Island, Ikoyi left at least 44 people dead and several others wounded.
Last May, no fewer than eight bodies were recovered after a three-storey building collapsed at Ebute-Metta.
In the same month of May, another building in the Ago Palace Way, near Amuwo Odofin.
Clariform Newsdesk holds that until prosecution of those who fails to follow laid down rules in the building industry becomes a common place, building collapse will continue to be a recurring decimal.
Government must not wait for collapsed buildings to act, rather, building regulation agencies should be vigilant and incorruptible in monitoring building construction from inception to completion
