Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on September 24, 2014

The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, has called on the Lagos State Government to apply the full weight of the criminal law against anyone found culpable for the collapse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations building in which about 155 people lost their lives.

The institute called for a thorough investigation into the incident, adding that the probe should not be limited to the owner of the collapsed building, but also to the approving agencies.

The National President, NITP, Chief Steve Onu, who said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, noted that the enforcement of relevant laws and appropriate sanctions against errant builders would serve as deterrent to those that love cutting corners when building.

According to him, building collapse was not the fault of planners but that of developers who cut corners, noting that many government buildings did not also meet standard town planning requirements.

He said that states are not employing professional town planners while local government councils retain and promote ill-trained urban development staff, adding that it was only the Federal Capital Territory that has a building tribunal in the country.

Onu said, If what has happened is considered a criminal act, criminal law should be pursued to its conclusion; there is a penalty for negligence, so they should carry out proper investigation even up to the approving agencies. Somebody is supposed to ensure that the building does not continue, so the government investigation should not be limited to Synagogue.

As much as much as possible, the searchlight should be extended to the approving agencies. Did they give approval? The people who built, did they build according to approval and if they did not give approval then it is an illegal structure, so whatever penalty the law says in respect of illegal structure, should be followed.

The NITP President whose tenure is winding down, explained that his administration had brought Nigerian town planners to global limelight, adding that the members of the profession are regularly invited to participate at many international fora.

The town planner predicted that the coastal areas of Lagos would experience massive flooding in the future on account of the land reclamation carried out by the developers of the Atlantic City project.

According to him, research had shown that the ice glaciers are melting which has resulted in the rising of the ocean with concomitant flooding of coastal areas globally.

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Synagogue: Criminal negligence should be punished, says NITP

Category: Synagogue
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