Banana Island: Unapproved, illegal buildings must be pulled down, says Sanwo-Olu

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has ordered the demolition and sealing of completed and uncompleted buildings in Banana Island in the Ikoyi area of the state

The governor instructed that buildings with infractions and those that were not granted appropriate approvals for construction by agencies of government must be pulled down.

He condemned the illegal activities of developers hiding under agencies of the Federal Government to build illegal structures on Banana Island.

Sanwo-Olu gave the order on Saturday during his visit to the site of the seven-storey building on First Avenue, Banana Island which recently collapsed.

He said his administration would no longer tolerate the activities of greedy developers who reclaim land from water illegally in connivance with some government agencies.

The governor’s order was acted on immediately by officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, who marked some of the affected buildings for demolition.

Sanwo-Olu said, “Investigation is going on now and you can see that they are still clearing the rubbles at the site. We have given the order to stop work, not only at this site but also at all of the construction sites on Banana Island.

“You have all seen the extent of what I will call an unapproved extension into the water. You can see that the original line for Banana Island is even not where we are. It is way in front there and you can see that several extensions have been granted by both the Federal Ministry of Work and Housing and the National Inland Waterways Authority. These are the two federal agencies that have been culpable for those extensions.

“They have done these extensions even without our knowledge. We have the responsibility for building approvals and from what I have been told, all of the four buildings around the collapsed building never applied for approval.

“This is recklessness on part of the developers and we will make a strong point out of this place and all around Banana Island. Any officers found culpable will also be sanctioned.

“It is heart-breaking each time we have to go through this and it shows sometimes how irresponsible those developers and some of our citizens that just want to make quick money are. And of course, our officers who are also not alive to their responsibilities.

“We have had to change staff members here and there so that we can bring forward robust and very strong monitoring officers. We will continue to do what we need to do to ensure that we keep the lives of our residents safe at all times.”

The governor was accompanied by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tayo Bamigbose-Martins; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso; Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye; General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Gbolahan Oki, among others.