Loss of lives: OYSG demolishes 69 yr old collapsing building

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By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
Oyo State Government has demolished a collapsing story building at the Ososami area, Ibadan to to avert loss of lives.
The state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun who stated this during a chat with journalists declared that the demolition of the dilapidated building followed distressed calls from the residents of the area as the building was giving way in segments and stages.
“We got distressed calls from residents of the Ososami area and upon the instruction of the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, we immediately swung into action by mobilising all relevant machinery of government and agencies such as the fire service, police, civil defence, local government, building and  physical planning experts. When we got there, the building was already on its way down tilted to one side and was collapsing intermittently.  We explained the imminent danger posed by the dilapidated building to the occupants of the house and immediately evacuated them,”he said.
Mr Arulogun stressed that “though, some of them were reluctant and they insisted on going back inside to the house to pick their property. However, based on expert advice, the security agents on ground prevented them from going in to shield them from danger and prevent the loss of lives.
“As a matter of fact, the periphery of the house was cordoned off. When it became clear that the house had to be demolished in a controlled manner, we put a call to the owner of the house, Mr. Osunseyi in the United States, who consented to the demolition after he was told the status of the building. He also sent me a confirmatory text message. The demolition exercise went well and no life was lost but some property of the occupants could not be rescued.  Tempers rose, the occupants of the building got emotional, but we achieved the ultimate with our proactive step by guarding against any loss of any life and calamity in the area”.
The Commissioner then advised property owners, building professionals and contractors in the state to adhere to the standard building procedures, avoid cutting corners and uphold minimum quality standards when erecting structures, emphasizing the need to conduct integrity test on old structures to avoid disasters in the state.
The demolition exercise was monitored by top government functionaries led by the Secretary to the State Government Alhaji Ishmael Olalekan Alli, Commissioner for Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Titles, Mr. Bimbo Kolade, and the Special Adviser to the Oyo State Governor on Environment and Physical Planning, Alhaji Waheed Gbadamosi.

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