By Olanrewaju Adesanya
Professionals in the Physical Planning and Urban Development sector have echoed the need to engage competent hands in building projects inspection and issuance of planning approvals to halt the spate of building collapse in Lagos State.
This was the thrust of the conversation at the public hearing, organised by the House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development chaired by Hon.David Setonji representing Badagry II at Lagos State House of Assembly.
The conversational parley had in attendance experts in the sector;members of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Nigerian Institute of Engineers, academics and consultants amongst others.
The
Lagos State Assembly in her bid to streamline necessary building technicalities
with a view to forestall recurrent collapse set out to rework Physical Planning
Permit Regulations 2018, Building Control Regulations 2018 as well as the Urban
and Regional Planning and
Development Amendment Bill 2015.
Stakeholders
however, raised fears on a number of aberrations cited in the proposed
regulations and amendments, questioning the dearth of qualified hands in the
various agencies of government saddled with the responsibility of
monitoring building projects.
The stakeholders, who took turns to commend the regulations and proposed
amendment, advocated engagement of various professionals like structural
engineers, civil engineers, architects and others to stem the tide.
Some of the stakeholders however, said that the notice of the public hearing was too short for adequate planning and robust contributions by them.
Over viewing, the Majority Leader of the House, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, said that the building control and planning permit regulations were to further standandise and enhance building and planning in the state.
Agunbiade, noted that the public hearing was to awaken consciousness of everybody as regards building development to make all ugly incidents of building collapse a thing of the past.
He said that the Building Control Regulations has three parts which included-Notice, Plans and Certificates; Building Construction and Development and Statutory Notices, Offences and Penalties.
On the Physical Planning Permit Regulations, Agunbiade said that the regulations comprised approval to carry out development, application for planning permit, submission of application among others.
On a bill for a law to amend the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2015, he said that the amendment to the bill would give life to the regulations.
According to Agunbiade, the bill seeks to amend 11 out of the 103 sections of the extant law, and introduce a new 27 sections as well as repeal a Lagos State Model City Development Authority law.
He said that the Model City Development Authority would now be put under the ministry of physical planning.
In his contribution, Mr Lukman Oshodi, the Vice Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), said that the rank of Lagos as city was relatively low in respect to building regulations.
Oshodi, who called for engagement of qualified professionals, harped on implementation and enforcement of regulations and also advocated accredited certifiers.
Prof. Martins Dada, a building expert, who called for adequate planning, said that the state should exceed the minimum requirements in building control.
Dada said that regulations under consideration did not even meet the minimum requirements, adding that registered builders should supervise buildings and not the regulatory agencies.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineers, Lagos State Chapter, Mrs Lola Adetona called for timeline for approval of permit and the cost.
“It
is mandatory to have a civil/structural engineer on site. Sewage treatment
plant should also be handled by a qualified civil engineer,’’ Adetona said.
Also, the Chairman of Nigerian Institute of Architects, Lagos State Chapter, Mr
Fitzgerald Umah said that the state did not have the human resources to deal
with the issues of building collapse.
Umah said that the ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPP&UD) should find a way to ensure that professionals take responsibilities for the jobs done.
Also, Mr Kunle Awobodu of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) noted that some people employed by Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABSCA) to monitor sites were not qualified.
He said that professional builders should be engaged in building demolition/deconstruction to avoid unnecessary injuries by quacks.
Mr Tunji Odunlami, a retired Permanent Secretary from the MPP & UD commended the government for responding to the challenges of building collapse.
Odunlami, however, said that regulations should not be limited to Building Control, Planning Permit, but be extended to Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority-the third created in 2010 extant law.
Prof. Leke Oduwoye, a Town Planner and Architect said that development control was a course in university, saying that many so called professionals were not knowledgeable and well-trained.
Oduwoye called on professionals to know their boundaries to avoid confusion on the field.
Mr Oreoluwa Fadayomi, the immediate past President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, who corroborated Oduwoye, called for training and retraining of professionals in LABSCA.
Fadayomi advocated that LABSCA should be taken out of the MPP&UD and should get professionals to man the authority.
Mr Yusuf Suleiman, a former General Manager, Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority (LASURA), said that the e-planning permit being proposed required adequate infrastructure before commencement.
Suleiman, who called for engagement of private consultants because of staff shortage said: “Lagos is fast growing and cannot afford to slow down the pace of development’’.
In the opinion of Mr Moses Ogunleye, a Town Planner said that regulations should not be harmful to the developers but instead enhance ease of doing business.
In his comment, Mr Rotimi Ogunleye, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development said the executive bill was transmitted to the House in 2017 to ensure a well-knitted building development in the state.
“When we have a substantive law, there must be regulations to implement it. Professionals must give their inputs so that there will be compliance,’’ he said.
The commissioner said that base on the challenges on the field there was the need for an agency to do integrity and material test.
He said that the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL) law operations were relevant to the MPP & UD, hence it should not be deleted as being proposed.
He said that the ministry had been finding it problematic implementing the section 74 of the extant law, which bothers on forfeiture of property.
Also speaking, Mr Ayo Adediran, a retired Permanent Secretary, said that the principle behind the model city development had changed nowadays; stressing that money generated in model city should be used for infrastructure in same area.
Prof. Joseph Odigure, the Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), said that design and construction should be separated into two units rather than being fused.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee said that the public hearing was to ensure proper building development and end tales of woes due to incessant building collapse.
He identified civil service bureaucracy as one of the factors delaying approval of permits, saying that the essence of the regulations was to put a stop to all challenges.
Earlier the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon.Mudashiru Obasa on said that most cases of collapsed buildings in the state were preventable with collective efforts of all professionals.
The Speaker, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni said that the regulations and amendments would make the state better and end building collapses.
Highlighting recent cases of building collapses where school children were part of the casualties, said that such tragedy are preventable only when every hand were on deck with enabling regulations.
“We appreciate your presence and we feel that the state and all of us would be better for it at the end of the day. On March 13th 2019 there was a building collapse in Ita Faaji and many pupils died.
“On 25th of March, 2019 another building collapsed in Kaakawa area of Lagos Island. All those stories that touch the heart are preventable if all of us do the right thing.
“I want to believe that these three regulations touch on aspects of constructing buildings. I believe that if all officers adhere strictly to all these, there would not be building collapse in Lagos Island or anywhere.
“We all have duties to protect the vulnerable children and adults that were affected by the building collapse. We should do all we can to protect our buildings. Your inputs matter in all regulations.’’
According to the committee chairman,Hon.David Setonji there are three militating factors to ease of issuance of approvals namely, civil service bureaucracy which circumvents extant laws, concentration of approving powers to the ministry which makes agencies inactive, cadres hitherto permitted to approve building structures are no longer allowed.
He however, noted that the stakeholders parley has churned out robust deliberations that addresses the salient issues to place the state on a safe pedestal for development.