23rd January, 2020
The Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, LSMTL, has warned developers in the built environment not to bend the rules or compromise safety standards in development of structures.
The General Manager, LSMTL, Engr. Olalekan Ajani, speaking at a meeting with the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) at the agency’s head office in Ikeja, Lagos, stated that LSMTL is a regulatory Agency whose watchword is Integrity.
He said the agency was out to ensure a better and safe environment, which is one of the pillars in the THEMES agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
He said the Cocoa House, one of the oldest buildings in the country, was still standing because of the quality of materials used for its construction.
Speaking on the issue of independent laboratories, he said some of them did not have the interest of the state at heart, as the were after profit.
He said those in the built industry should be wary of materials they use for construction, and that the only way they could know the quality of materials they use for construction was to bring them to the agency’s laboratory so that they could be tested.
Ajani urged LASBCA’s staff to support the General Manager, Engr. Abiola Kosegbe in the drive towards reducing collapse of building and loss of lives.
According to him, this meeting is long overdue, while praising LASBCA for the good job in stemming incidents of collapsed building in the state.
General Manager, LASBCA, Engr. Abiola Kosegbe lauded the initiative of the LSMTL, saying it was good to have synergy with all agencies in the built industry because LASBCA could not do it alone and needed all relevant agencies to work with as a team.
She said after several incidents of buildings collapse in the state, the agency ensured that proper monitoring were done to stem further collapse.
The mandate of the Agency, she said, was to prevent building collapse and always ensure that developers had development permit which was very important.