Following Nov. 1 collapse of Ikoyi high-rise, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared a three-day mourning.
All flags are to be flown at half-mast in public and private buildings and official engagements cancelled during the mourning period.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, who announced this on Thursday, said:”The Lagos State Government, once again, commiserates with all those who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate incident.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu has visited the site thrice to encourage the rescuers and console relations of those who are believed to have been trapped in the 21-storey building.
“He was today at the hospital to cheer up those injured before swearing in a six-man panel of Inquiry to find out why the building went down and recommend measures to prevent such incidents.”
Meanwhile, the state government claimed that no fewer than 32 bodies have so far been recovered from the rubble.
Sanwo-Olu had earlier on Thursday inaugurated members of the investigation tribunal that will conduct an inquiry into the misconduct responsible for the collapse of a 21-storey structure on Gerrard Road in Ikoyi.
The Governor also signed the instrument legitimizing the composition of the panel and empowering the tribunal to invite or summon anyone and organisation useful to the investigation.Members of the tribunal, who are totally drawn from the private sector, took the oath at the event held in the LASWA Building at Falomo, Ikoyi.
They are expected to complete their assignment and report back within four weeks.
The National President of Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Mr Toyin Ayinde, chairs the panel, while Mr Ekundayo Onajobi, a lawyer, will serve as the Secretary.
Other panel members are a structural engineer, Dr. Akintilo Idris Adeleke; an architect, Yinka Ogundairo representative of Institute of Builders, Mr. Godfrey O. Godfrey, and Mrs. Bunmi Ibrahim, a real estate lawyer.Sanwo-Olu, who described the event as a “sad one” for Lagos, said the public deserved to know what went wrong and stressed that the work of the panel would not bring back the lives lost, but would help to prevent reoccurrence of such tragic events.
“We are gathered here to perform a sad but necessary duty, which is the inauguration of a 6-member Panel of Inquiry into the collapse of the 21-storey building at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, on Monday.
“It is a solemn moment for me personally, but this is an important assignment. Indeed, the generation coming after will not forgive us if we don’t do the right thing on this incident.”
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