The Lagos State Government has expressed its readiness to a new Building Code next year to achieve the high-performance standards needed to make the city a sustainable and Smart City.
At the state Executive Council Retreat on the Domestication of the Lagos Building Code, on Wednesday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu emphasised the need for more collaboration among all the ministries and agencies in the built sector to ensure the state development in line with global best practices.
Organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, and held at Ikeja GRA, the governor told the gathering that the motive behind the building code is to have a building regulation that would make Lagos much more resilient.
He said: “We (Lagos State Government) are the first to domesticate the National Building Code, which is the creation of the Federal Government. We are not doing anything outside the vision at the sovereign and sub-sovereign levels. But what is unique about our own is the fact that all the cabinet members see the need to have an input because it would be an outcome that would affect lives and different ministries and agencies. So, there is need for everybody to have a say, and at the end of the day, collectively we will resolve to have a way.
“What we are trying to do is for Lagos State to do what is obtainable internationally: have a building regulation in which we have a standard of construction in design, manner of land use occupancy, and use of building materials, which we believe would eventually improve and help with health, safety, and occupancy issues. It is all about building sustainably, making Lagos a lot more resilient and able to absorb shock in the future and able to stand in the comity of developed cities and city-states as we see in various parts of the world”.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on eGIS and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde stated that the building code is to complement the existing regulatory framework and provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of land use, physical development, and urban planning.
Babatunde said the code would regulate building control, planning permission, and address the issues of setback; take care of the safety and sustainability of the environment; and also prevent the collapse of buildings.
“We have been working on the domestication of the National Building Code, and by next year, we are going to have our own brand-new Lagos Building Code. We have worked with professional bodies and people from academia, market women, and the public in general, and through a participatory approach, we are able to come out with a document that is acceptable to everyone and useful to the entire state”, he said.
Also, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Engr. Olufemi Daramola described the code initiative by the Sanwo-Olu administration as the next step to Green Lagos that will enable the state to plan buildings properly and ensure durable infrastructure in the state.
Participants at the retreat brainstormed and advocated aggressive sensitisation for state’s residents on the building code before implementation.
