Gov. Ambode Fires 4 Senior State Officials Over Lekki Building Collapse

In the latest move of the Lagos state government to punish those found to have been complicit in the illegal construction of the Lekki building, the governor has approved the dismissal an engineer and general manager of the Building Control Agency following last week's collapse.

Following last week’s collapse of a Lekki Gardens building that resulted in the death of 34 people, governor of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode, has approved the dismissal of Adeigbe Olushola, an engineer and general manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

 

Head of Inspection and Quality Control in the agency, Adeoye Thomas Adeyemi, and Zonal District Officer in the agency, Dosunmu Gbadebo, have all been dismissed by the governor while Zonal Head of Eti-Osa west of the agency, Akinde Adenike Sherifat, was compulsorily retired from the civil service.

 

The state government had blamed the collapse on 'a brazen act of defiance and impunity' by owners of the building, Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, saying it 'criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the unfortunate incident.'

 

Olabowale Ademola, the state head of service, who spoke on behalf of the governor, said that the affected officers were dismissed 'having been indicted of negligence, which according to him, is an act of misconduct under the Public Service Rule 040401.'

"Rule 040401 of the Public Service act of misconduct states inter alia: ‘A willful act of omission or general misconduct to the scandal of the pubic or to the prejudice of discipline and proper administration of the State Government’ should be visited with dismissal from the Public Service in line with the Public Service Rule 040503," read Ademola’s statement.

"The disciplinary measure is the outcome of the recommendations of the Personnel Management Board to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was personally grieved by the high number of fatalities that occurred as a result of the building collapse."

 

She warned public officials, private building owners and contractors who violate or subvert building regulations that it would no longer be business as usual, saying that the dismissal of the officers will serve as a wake-up call to public servants.

 

"It is also a clarion call to them to be alive to their responsibilities as any act of negligence will face sanctions, while hardworking officers will be rewarded appropriately," she added.