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By Lukman Olabiyi
The Tribunal of Inquiry set up by Lagos State government to investigate the cause of the collapsed 21-storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, yesterday, submitted its report to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The report was submitted by the chairman of the tribunal, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, at Lagos House, Ikeja.
The building collapsed on November 1, 2021 and claimed over 40 lives.
After receiving the report, Governor Sanwo-Olu, set up a four-man committee led by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, as the first step to the implementation of the report. Other members of the committee are Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola; Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) and his Agriculture counterpart, Ms. Abisola Olusanya.
The governor said the committee would come out with a report to be considered by the Lagos State Executive Council on the subject.
He commended members of the Toyin Ayinde-led panel for their commitment and quick response to the assignment given to them.
While presenting the report to the governor, Ayinde said members of the tribunal took up the responsibility with the greatest sense of humility and discharged their duty creditably.
He said though people expressed doubts on the ability of the tribunal to be fair in its investigation, the tribunal was fair in its report as it considered all issues and documents fairly. He said in the course of the investigation, the tribunal, received and reviewed documents from relevant MDAs, conducted 35 interview sessions, interrogated a total of 91 persons, requested and received a total of 21 memoranda. It also received submissions from professional associations, groups and individuals, and visited the site of the collapsed building, as well as the home of the late CEO of Fourscore Heights Limited, Femi Osibona, where it retrieved some documents which he said helped the tribunal in gaining further insights into the processes that led to the construction and eventual collapse of the structure.
He said the report, if implemented, would help the government to bring lasting solution to incidences of building collapse, not only in Lagos State, but nationally.
