The Synagogue, now under scrutiny |
The structure, which was under construction, was
initially a two-storey building before the addition of four new floors which
were under construction.
As of Thursday, the death toll in the building
collapse hit 80. Among the dead were 67 South Africans.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency has,
therefore, marked the main building of the church, asking for relevant
documents to prove its structural integrity. And this new development SHOWBIZPLUSng
gathered is causing panic among the controversial founder of the church, TB
Joshua, his senior pastors and aides.
The General Manager, Lagos State Building Control
Agency, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun-Odunayo, who confirmed that the building had
been marked by the agency in a phone interview with Saturday PUNCH,
said it had requested that the church provides some documents, adding that a
structural integrity test would be carried out on all the buildings in the
church complex.
She said, “X’ (the mark on the building) does not
mean demolition; it is for structural integrity test to be carried out on the
building and the church is expected to provide all the documents for approval
and the church has three months to do this.”
Asked if the building would be demolished in case
the church failed to meet the requirements within the time frame,
Animashaun-Odunayo declined to make further comments.
“Look, it is still under investigation; I can’t
say more than that. I don’t even know who I am talking with on the phone,” she
said.
LASBCA was recently created to enforce building
control regulations and implement the 2010 Physical Planning, Urban Development
and Building Law in the state.
The State Commissioner for Physical Planning and
Urban Development, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde, who spoke with one of our
correspondents, also described the “X” sign as a ‘stop work order.’
“It is a stop work order. it doesn’t mean the
building will be demolished,” he said.
He explained the order became necessary so as to
allow a structural integrity test on all the buildings in the church complex.
The commissioner said though there was an
approval for the church auditorium, he was not certain that there was an
approval for the additional work being done on the auditorium.
The President, Building Collapse Prevention
Guild, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, also described the “X” mark as notice to stop work on
the building and also to draw attention to illegal activities on it.
He said the notice could span up to seven days or
more depending on the situation.
He said, “Work was ongoing on the six-storey
building before it collapsed though the church said it was due to an aircraft
hovering for a period of time but this aircraft could be traced and enquiry
made.
“Technically speaking, the foundation of a house
is the key for successive floors to sit comfortably.
“Presentation of papers such as the architectural
drawings, structural drawings, soil test reports and many more would strengthen
or weaken the evidence of the church.”
A former Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Institute of
Architects, who is a member of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild Technical
Committee on the investigation of the collapsed building at the Synagogue
Church, Olufemi Shodunke, explained that the structural integrity test to be
carried out on the building would involve professional judgement to determine
its efficacy.
Shodunke said the professionals responsible for
the construction of the collapsed guest house had yet to be identified and that
the answer was important to the investigation of the committee.
An estate surveyor, Kayode Ogunji, who is also a
member of the collapsed building investigation panel, said, “In the building
language, when you have an ‘X’ sign labelled on a structure, it means there is
a distress in that building; it means there is something wrong with the
construction. It is either the building is tilting, sinking or the right
materials were not used, and even before, during and after construction, if
these tilts are discovered, the authority in charge will now come over there to
tell the builders to stop.
Punch
1 comment:
lol ,
ehh see grammar, na now u guys wake up, niger approach alwasy comes after deaths of poor souls.
Nigeria needs help
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