Lagos, SON resolve to deliver quality houses

The Lagos government has said it was adopting proactive measures towards providing quality mass housing to keep up with the state’s rising population.

Commissioner for housing Moruf Akinderu-Fatai disclosed this at the fourth edition of the Builders’ Business Workshop organized by the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) in Ikeja on Wednesday.

Fatai in his remark noted that, the daily flow of people to Lagos was spreading the shelter gap hence ongoing efforts for constructing high-rise buildings while not losing sight of quality.

He added that the state government introduced vertical construction while capturing safety, cost and quality.

Through its many housing programs and partnerships, Fatai revealed efforts to close the shelter gap, claiming that some Lagos residents had little interest in home ownership because efforts were being made to develop rental-only housing options.

“The rent laws were being examined to make it attractive for the private sector to inject funds into housing schemes”.

He therefore, urged professionals to collaborate towards assisting government efforts while urging them to shun unhealthy competition.

Also speaking, the director-general of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Farouk Salim, called for the prosecution of building collapse offenders to ensure compliance with quality.

Salim lamented building collapses, with Nigeria topping the chart in Africa and Lagos accounting for 60 per cent of the collapse in the country.

 “This workshop underscores the commitment of the Institute to address the challenges of building and construction deficits in Nigeria. The survey practices and procedures for building and post-construction services are essential aspects of the construction industry to ensure that buildings are constructed and maintained in line with international best practices, thereby promoting public safety and improving the lives and security of the citizens of Nigeria,” Salim explained.

He added, “The post-construction stage of buildings and construction is critical in the life cycle of a building. Surveyors and other professionals are expected to inspect buildings to ensure that they meet all relevant regulations. This will provide the clients with a report detailing the results of the inspections and recommendations for future maintenance or repairs.” 

He hailed the leadership of the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) for planning the workshop to increase the professionals’ capacity. The SON leader also counseled the contractors to use the workshop’s information to carry out a post-construction building survey for Lagos State in an effort to curb building collapse.