An excavator packs rubble into a waiting truck at the site of a building collapse at Ibadan Street along Herbert Macaulay Way in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State on May 2, 2022. Credit: Channels TV
President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with families of those who died, sustained injuries, and were affected in the building collapse at Ebute Metta area of Lagos State.
A statement by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, on Monday in Abuja, said the incident pained the president, with search and rescue still ongoing at the site.
Buhari saluted the courage and determination of the first responders, national and sub-national emergency agencies in Lagos State, and compassionate Nigerians.
He noted that their immediate actions following the collapse of the three-storey building led to the rescue of several persons, including many children.
The president regrettably noted that the frequency of building collapses in the country has become increasingly embarrassing.
He, therefore, urged the relevant state authorities to work closely with professional bodies to stop the incidents.
He wished those injured a speedy recovery and prayed for divine assistance in the ongoing search and rescue operations.
The statement said: “The President, who is pained by this tragic incident, salutes the courage and determination of the first responders, national and sub-national emergency agencies in Lagos State, and compassionate Nigerians, whose immediate action in the aftermath of the collapse of the three-storey building led to the rescue of several persons, including many children.”
According to him, the frequency of building collapses in the country has become increasingly embarrassing.
President Buhari, therefore, urged the relevant state authorities to work closely with professional bodies to put a halt to such incidents which he described as unfortunate but preventable.
The three-storey building located at No. 38 Ibadan Street off Herbert Macaulay Way in Ebute Metta had collapsed on Sunday night.
At least eight persons comprising five males and three females were recovered dead from the rubble, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
NEMA’s Zonal Coordinator in the South West, Ibrahim Farinloye, who confirmed this revealed that 23 people have been rescued so far after the structure went down at about 10:56pm on Sunday.
A mother and her child were among those recovered dead from the rubble as emergency officials continued rescue and recovery operations at the site.
They include personnel of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), among others.
Sunday’s incident is the second building collapse to be recorded in the Yaba-Ebute Metta axis of the state in almost three months.
Another three-storey building collapsed in the Onike area of Yaba on February 13, resulting in several casualties after the developer of the project reportedly returned to the site despite a stop-work order on the structure.
