Worshippers at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, located in Mushin area of Lagos State might be stranded tomorrow, Sunday, as the state government has started pulling down the remaining part of the church structure, which collapsed on Friday.
The demolition is being handled by the Lagos State Building Control Agency LASBCA, which is currently at the scene.
Recall that the building under construction, located opposite 17, Cardoso Street, off Martin street, Mushin, had given way at about 6.30p.m. on Friday.
Meanwhile, a source told Vanguard that the Church would cooperate fully with the state government in its investigation, noting that they never used substandard materials in the building.
According to the source, “the Church followed due process, used standard materials in the building.
“So the Church will cooperate fully with government to ascertain where the fault lies.
“However, it was not a three-storey building that went down. In fact, the Church is a storey building with a small gallery.
“It was just a small part of it that collapsed.”
Demolition
The demolition exercise began at about 5p.m. under the supervision of LASBCA General Manager, Engineer Gbolahan Oki, to avert any secondary incident in the area.
The officials stormed the scene after the building collapsed, but waited till the following day to commence the demolition exercise.
Though no casualty was recorded, Vanguard gathered that the church contravened the approval granted to them by the Lagos State Government.
Engineer Oki, who addressed the church leadership at the scene, made them understand the gravity of their offence and that the demolition was in their interest.
According to him, the government does not deny anyone access to build but to avert faulty structures in Lagos.
He said: “We are here to remove the structure and ensure there are no casualties as a result of failed section of the structure.
“We are here to ensure that any building that would be erected across Lagos is well constructed and habitable for everyone irrespective of their status in the state.”
The LASBCA boss urged Lagosians to engage the services of experts while erecting structures to avert building collapse.
He cited that the state government has sets up different agencies that would assist anyone willing to erect structures in the state.
As at 9p.m., the bulldozer was still at the scene. Continue Reading
