Olajide Adediran, the convener of the Lagos4Lagos Movement of the APC in Lagos, has slammed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu over the collapse of a 21-storey building approved by the Lagos government.

“This is a pointer to the high degree of disregard for due diligence and compliance with standards by the government which continues to put the lives and properties of Lagos residents at risk,” he said.

Mr Adediran described the disaster as avoidable, saying, “the sad incident is one too many.” He called out the government on the poor monitoring of agencies under its watch, resulting in the incessant collapse of buildings in Lagos.

Reacting to Mr Sanwo-Olu’s suspension of Gbolahan Oki, the general manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mr Adediran said it was a face-saving decision.

The group also commiserated with the Ikoyi collapsed building victims’ relatives in a statement on Tuesday evening.

He admonished the government’s independent panel of inquiry to look into the immediate and remote causes of the collapsed building. The APC chieftain added that the panel should also investigate the claims and counterclaims by the suspended LASBCA general manager and Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat on the approved floors for the building.

“It is not just fair enough to suspend the general manager. Are we saying the GM who issued the approval for the building didn’t know what he approved or what? There is more to this, and we believe only a truly independent panel of inquiry can do justice to this,” he said.

The LASBCA boss on Monday said the owner of the collapsed 21-storey building, under construction in Ikoyi, was given the approval to construct only 15 floors.

However, Mr Hamzat, while addressing journalists on Tuesday morning, revealed that the owner of the building got approval for 21 floors.

The building, located at 20 Gerrard Road, collapsed on Monday afternoon.

(NAN)