State govt. puts construction of new Lekki Gardens estate on hold

Lagos state government has stopped any more work from being done on the new Lekki Gardens estate in Olokonla, Lekki.

According to Punch, this ‘stop work’ order, which was put out in order to prevent another building collapse, affects about 100 buildings.

The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, LASPPPA General Manager, Mr Remi Oni-Orisan, noted that there was a need for the order after a recent inspection tour of the buildings.

He said, "There are a lot of infractions on the estate. For instance, where you are supposed to have a block of one unit, there are more than that and where there shouldn't be anything at all, they have erected blocks of flats. However, before we can reach a conclusion, we have to match what was built in comparison with what was actually approved for the firm. We have given a stop work order to the ongoing structures."

ALSO READ: ‘Lekki incident could have been prevented if proper measures were taken’ – experts say

He also urged the estate developers to get their papers in order or risk getting into trouble with the government.

The state government has demanded for evidence of approval on buildings as the management has been accused of allegedly encroaching on land reserved for ‘green environment’ and going beyond the number of floors approved by the LASPPPA and Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA.

In related news, the state government has also filed a lawsuit against the executives of the real estate company.

The six-count charge include failure to obtain building approval for the collapsed building and unlawful manslaughter contrary to Section 75 of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of Lagos.

This lawsuit was filed on February 17, 2017.

Looks like the government is doing everything to prevent another collapsed building incident.