Debo Omilani has been practicing journalism for about seven years. He is a committedand dedicated journalist with a passion for reporting newsworthy events without bias.
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Lagos State Government has issued a warning to the residents of state-owned housing Estates to desist from modifying the approved designs of structures within their environment.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Housing, Mr. Wasiu Akewusola gave the warning on Monday during a meeting with the representatives of the Residents Association of Abraham Adesanya Estate at the State Secretariat, Alausa.
He said “It is in the best interest of all residents of government-owned estates to stop alteration of structures of buildings in government-owned estates. Such alterations or reconstructing include restyling, an extension of, and additions to existing facilities and in some extreme cases increase in levels of buildings”.
Akewusola observed that these alterations are deviations from the terms and conditions stated in the deed of sub-lease signed by the two parties and warned that it could lead to a penalty as stated in the Law.
The Permanent Secretary maintained that the government-owned Estates are designed and built by the State Government in compliance with global environmental and physical planning rules to ensure durability and liveability.
He averred that contravention of such standards often results in dire consequences such as reduced durability of the structure both for the homeowner and other residents in the area.
Akewusola, therefore, advised the residents to desist from any form of redesigning of the building as this may cause damages to the building and the entire environment at any period.
He also underscored the need for the residents to maintain the original structural design to prevent future disasters, saying that “A building is a permanent load whose capacity of erection can only be known and accessed by certified engineers. This capability, which is environmentally determined, had already been quantified before the buildings were erected. Any plans to overload the capacity may result in disaster.”
He also informed the residents that all unapproved remodelling contravene the Physical and Urban Planning Law of the State government, hence affected buildings will be demolished by the appropriate agency of the State government.
“The demolition exercise of illegal and unapproved structures in government-owned estates will commence very soon without any further warning”, Akewusola disclosed.
He also hinted that the State government is aware of some residents who have turned the government housing estates’ setbacks into the marketplace and cautioned that it will no longer be business as usual as the administration will not rest on its oars in ensuring that sanity returns to the government-owned Estates.
While noting that the State monitoring team has scaled up its surveillance activities to ensure compliance with set environmental standards, the Permanent Secretary disclosed that drainage systems will be upgraded to combat incessant flooding in government Estates.
In response, the residents commended the government’s efforts in the maintenance of the estates and pledged full support for government actions in penalising offenders. They also requested for a recreation centre and other joint community facilities for the estate.
Present at the meeting were the Chairperson of Elders Forum of Abraham Adesanya Housing Estate, Madam Sulaimon Theresa, Vice Chairman of Abraham Adesanya Housing Estate Community Development Association, Elder Samuel Ogunseitan JP, Chairman of Abraham Adesanya Residents Association, Mr. Oguntoye Oyebanji, Facility manager of Abraham Adesanya Housing Estate, Mr. Yomi Adebesin and the management staff of the State’s Ministry of Housing.
This post was written by Debo Omilani.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.