• Tasks artisans, stakeholders on safe, secure construction
• Reopens partially closed Ogudu-Ifako Bridge

Lagos State Government has said that every time there is a building collapse, it is often traced to one root cause, the failure of materials.
General Manager, Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory Agency (LSMTL), Olayinka Abdul, said this, yesterday, during a stakeholders’ forum with bricklayers, block moulders, concrete mixers and steelmakers cum welders in Badagry area of the state themed, “The Certified Structural Integrated Programme (CSIP): Forging a New, Unbreakable Alliance Against Preventable Tragedy of Building Collapse.”

Abdul, who was represented by Abayomi Adewumi, said that building collapse is a profound tragedy because lives are lost, families are shattered, investments are wiped out, and collective confidence is shaken, yet many of these collapses are preventable. She stated that the CSIP is the strategic blueprint to end the preventable tragedy of building collapses in Lagos State.

The LSMTL General Manager, who stated that while the role of artisans and builders is to provide quality materials and that of the LSMTL is to certify them, said: “Before any permit is issued by LASPPPA, a sub-soil investigation is mandatory. This tells us the type of foundation needed.

The strength of that foundation depends on the concrete and blocks you supply. Strong soil is useless if the blocks in the foundation are weak.

IN another development, the Lagos State government, yesterday, reopened the Ogudu-Ifako Bridge. Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Olufemi Daramola, who spoke shortly before the reopening of the road, said that the project was undertaken to take care of the defects on the expansion joints.

Daramola commended residents of the state for their patience, saying: “The lifespan of the joints on the bridge is based on attitude.”