Ambode, Proprietors Association Say School Operated Illegally

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos, on Wednesday, visited the scene of a three-storey building which collapsed in Ita Faaji area of Lagos Island to commiserate with families of those who lost their lives.

The three-storey residential building, located at No 14, Massey Street, Opposite Oja, Ita-Faaji, housing a primary school on its penthouse, caved in at about 10am on Wednesday, trapping scores of pupils of the school in the process.

Governor Ambode, who got to the scene of the incident at about 2:42pm, described the situation as unfortunate.

He appealed to residents to allow rescue operators the space to carry out their operations so as to rescue more children still trapped under the rubbles.

“I want to commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives in this collapsed building. I want to quickly let Lagosians know that this is quite an unfortunate incident. All we are trying to do is to scale up this rescue operation. Our response units are already here; we are getting additional cranes to be able to go deeper than where we are now to rescue more lives.

“I just want to appeal to people that when we are doing this kind of rescue operation, yes, sympathizers will naturally come but I want to appeal that they should give the rescue workers the chance to save more lives,” he said.

Meanwhile, President of the  National Association of Proprietors’ of Private Schools Lagos State,  Alhaji Wasiu Adumadeyin, has said the school using the collapsed building at the Ita,Faaji area of Lagos is not recognized by the body.

Adumadeyin said the owners are not members of the Association and that he had thought it was a member’s school in the neighborhood only to discover it was another school.

The Governor also said he had received information that the building was a residential one, with the school operating illegally within the premises.

He added that about two floors of the building sunk to the ground and that most of the buildings in the area had been marked for demolition, but that some property owners in the area defied such notices.

Ambode, however, assured that going forward, structural defective buildings would be demolished.

National Wire has not been able to independently confirm if the school was also issued a permit by the government to operate  in the state.

The Governor said his Deputy, Dr. Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, had also visited the hospitals where some of the victims rescued had been taken to, assuring that the State Government would immediately take over their treatment and foot their entire bill.

“The Deputy Governor is in the hospital actually taking care of those that were rescued and taken to the hospital most especially the children. On the part of government, we would immediately take care of whatever it is that we can do, including the hospital bills.

“All we are interested in now is to save more lives and also see how those that have been rescued are put in proper place and proper care,” he said.