Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Monday, warned that his administration will prosecute any state official or contractor found compromising standards in building construction.
He said a law would be enacted in the state, criminalising any act of compromise in building standards capable of threatening life and property.
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His warning followed the recent collapse of a 21-storey building in Ikoyi, Lagos State, where more than 40 deaths have been recorded.
Abiodun said if any official or contractor is found guilty of compromising safety and standards, he or she would be jailed.
He said this on Monday during the Treasury Board Meeting on the year 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2022 Budget held at the Obas’ Complex, Abeokuta.
“I am coming up with a law that will send workers in the building industry to prison.
“Workers in these agencies responsible for building control are susceptible to taking bribes.
“I am going to ensure that there is something in our law that will send the head of building control agency to prison if a building collapses in Ogun State under their watch.
“The preoccupation of those responsible for building control should not just be revenue but to ensure due process and best practices in consonance with the State Building Control Regulations.
“If somebody was given the approval to construct a storey building and you find out that the person has started decking for the second floor, you give him a stop order and penalty for exceeding the original approval.
“That is not enough; the penalty should be punitive. Yes, I want to see the money but I am more concerned about the welfare, well-being and wellness of our people,” the governor said.
Abiodun declared that his administration had increased the Internally Generated Revenue and made more money than any other administration in one year at the end of September.
The governor, who equally said his government had grown the economy by 20 per cent over last year, added that the performance of the 2020 budget is now over 70 per cent, saying; “we will achieve 85 per cent by the end of the year”.
He stressed the determination of his administration to sustain the trajectory recorded and also improve on it in the coming year.
Abiodun explained that his administration opted to support the call by some state governments to collect Value Added Tax, so as to ensure that those who generate VAT, collect and enjoy it.
According to him, “the VAT campaign was in the spirit of restructuring and fiscal federalism”.
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