Sanwo-Olu blames FG for unapproved Banana Island extension

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has blamed the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the National Inland Waterways Authority for allegedly granting extension of the line of Banana Island.

The governor stated this on Saturday when he led a delegation of government officials for an on-the-spot assessment to the site where a seven-storey building under construction collapsed in the high-brow area, killing one person and leaving 25 injured.

He said, “You have all seen the extent of what I will call unapproved extension into the water, at the back of each of the land that is abutting water. You can see that the original line for Banana Island is not even where we are.

“It is way in front there and you can see that there are several extensions that have been granted by both the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and NIWA. These are the two federal agencies that have been culpable for those extensions. They have done these extensions even without our knowledge.”

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When contacted, the Federal Controller, Ministry of Works and Housing, Housing Sector, Margaret Adejobi, denied the accusation by the governor, stating that since a 2003 Supreme Court judgment, the Federal Government had not granted approval for land or building in the state.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s spokesperson, Blessing Adams-Lere, could not confirm the information when contacted by our correspondent.

She asked for time to reach the directors in charge, but had yet to respond as of press time.

Meanwhile, during the course of his inspection in the area, the governor also ordered the immediate demolition and sealing of many completed and uncompleted buildings with various building infractions and those that were not granted appropriate approvals for construction by agencies of government.

Sanwo-Olu blamed “irresponsible developers and citizens” focused on making quick money for the collapse of the seven-storey building, as he vowed to make “a strong point out of this place and all around Banana Island.”