The Ekiti State Government has lamented that the developer of the recently collapsed event centre in the state used substandard materials and failed to follow the approved building plan.
It would be recalled that the event centre in Ijero-Ekiti, headquarters of Ijero Local Government Area of the state collapsed on guests during a ceremony last weekend, with many people sustaining injuries.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Karounwi Oladapo, who spoke during an assessment of the collapsed event centre in Ijero-Ekiti noted that the government would be decisive in enforcing the Ekiti State Urban and Regional Law 2011 and other relevant laws towards preventing future occurrence of structure collapse.
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Karounwi stated that the ministry would soon embark on an Operation Show Your Approved Plan exercise which would enable developers to get their building plans or regularize their buildings over a period of moratorium, warning developers that the government would punish anyone who contravened the laid down laws.
He said: “The duty of any responsible government is to guarantee the safety and security of life of its citizens. Hence, the government will not fold its hands and allow preventable accidents and calamities to befall the people.
“Even though the building had an approved plan, it is disheartening to note that such plan was not duly followed while the quality of the job and materials used were sub-standard.
“Town Planning Area Offices in all the local governments will be strengthened to monitor construction endeavors and carry out a thorough inspection of Public and Private buildings across the State to ascertain their level of conformity and compliance with development/building plan and permit to forestall a recurrence and ensure optimum performance.”
On the flagrant disregard for the ‘Stop Work’ directive of the government, the commissioner informed that the notice carried the power of the law, and must be obeyed to the letter, saying “anybody that goes outside the law is a criminal and the law will take its full course against any developer that contravenes “stop work” notice.
“Going forward, we will enforce development control laws. We will ensure that Physical Planning in Ekiti State is done according to the law. No arbitrary erection of structures anywhere any longer.”
