Henceforth, ALL Lagos buildings must obtain fitness certificate

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has launched a rebranded certificate of completion and fitness for buildings in the state.

In a statement on Wednesday, Gboyega Akosile, chief press secretary to the governor, said Sanwo-Olu launched the certificate at an event held at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium in Alausa.

He said the objective of the certificate is to safeguard lives of residents and address the root causes of building collapses.

According to Akosile, the governor has empowered the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) with the mandate of issuing the certificate to all existing and new building developments, thereby ensuring their resilience and safety for occupancy.

“This event is a testimony to our determination to address incidents of building collapse, by ensuring that due processes are followed in physical development activities in a way that will usher in new practice and bring about saner environment devoid of avoidable loss of lives and properties,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“The launch of the Certificate of Completion and Fitness for Habitation is one of the moves to further strengthen our resolve to control building collapse incidents. This is a game-changer in building control strategies as it portrays us a government that thinks ahead and that is concerned about the safety of lives and properties of the citizens.

“Acceptance of this Certificate of Fitness can only gain a prime place if would-be tenant or property buyer always request for the certificate from the landlord or owner of the building before payment of their rents or conclusion of property transaction to ensure the building is indeed safe.

“The workability of the initiative depends majorly on the level of acceptance by the general public and this will speak volume about our readiness to bring about desired changes in our environment and also embrace ideas that would further ensure our safety and protection.”

Sanwo-Olu linked previous building collapse incidents recorded in the state to low compliance to physical planning laws, noting that unenforced building codes would have dire consequences on lives of the residents.