The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev Alfred Adewale Martins, has described the several incidents of collapsed buildings in Lagos State in recent times and other parts of the country as alarming.
He called for closer monitoring of those involved in the construction industry to curb the use of inferior materials and other unprofessional practices often associated with the industry practitioners and urged regulatory agencies to reject the culture of compromise on standards which ultimately undermines the integrity of buildings and result in avoidable death and injury.
He spoke against the backdrop of the collapse of the 21-storey building in Ikoyi.
In a statement by the Director of Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, Archbishop Martins sympathised with all those who sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of the collapsed building. He said such an unfortunate incident and similar cases could have been prevented with proper regulation and strict monitoring by the relevant supervisory authorities.
The prelate welcomed the idea of a three-day mourning period and hoped that it would make us reflect on the value of human life so that no one would engage in practices and activities that would jeopardise human life and dignity anymore. He expressed delight that the government set up an independent Panel of inquiry made up of professionals from outside of government circle as that would inspire the sort of confidence that the result of their inquiry may throw up.