The Lagos state government has said it will get a new building code next year to achieve the high-performance standards required for a sustainable and Smart City.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed at the end of the Lagos State Executive Council Retreat on the Domestication of the Lagos Building Code, organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development on Wednesday.
Sanwo-Olu emphasised the need for collaboration among all the ministries and agencies in the built sector to ensure development in line with global best practices, stating that the Lagos Building Code is to have a building regulation that would make Lagos much more resilient.
“We (Lagos State Government) are the first to domesticate the National Building Code, which is the creation of the Federal Government. We are not doing anything outside the vision at the sovereign and sub-sovereign levels. However, what is unique about our own is that all the cabinet members see the need to have an input because it would be an outcome that would affect lives and different ministries and agencies. So, there is a need for everybody to have a say, and at the end of the day, collectively we will resolve to have a way.
“What we are trying to do is for Lagos State to do what is obtainable internationally: have a building regulation in which we have a standard of construction in design, manner of land use occupancy, and use of building materials, which we believe would eventually improve and help with health, safety, and occupancy issues. It is all about building sustainably, making Lagos a lot more resilient and able to absorb shock in the future and stand in the comity of developed cities and city-states as we see in various parts of the world.”
The Special Adviser to the Governor on eGIS and Urban Development, Olajide Babatunde, stated that the Lagos Building Code complements the existing regulatory framework and provides a comprehensive solution to the challenges of land use, physical development, and urban planning.
Babatunde said the Lagos Building Code will regulate building control, planning permission, setback issues, sustainability of the environment, and prevent building collapses.
“We have been working on the domestication of the National Building Code, and by next year, we will have our own brand-new Lagos Building Code. We have worked with professional bodies and people from academia, market women, and the public in general, and through a participatory approach, we can come out with a document that is acceptable to everyone and useful to the entire state,” he said.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Engr. Olufemi Daramola, described the Lagos State Building Code initiative by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration as the next step to Green Lagos that will enable the state to plan buildings properly and ensure durable infrastructure.
During the retreat, members of the Lagos State Executive Council brainstormed and advocated aggressive sensitisation on the Lagos Building Code before implementation
