OGUN STATE government earlier today cited an alleged violation of the state’s physical planning laws as one of the reasons it pulled down DATKEM Plaza, Ijebu-Ode.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olayiwola Abiodun also said the structure was illegal.
DATKEM Plaza is owned by the wife of former Governor Gbenga Daniel, Yeye Olufunke Daniel.
Construction of the structure, which is said to have full approval, started in 2009 and it’s scheduled for commissioning at the end of September.
However, the Permanent Secretary further stated that the demolished structure violated the building codes of the state with numerous defects.
According to him, efforts made by the state government to halt further development were ignored by the developers.
He mentioned that government officials had requested the structural engineer responsible for the building to provide the state with an assessment of the building’s structural stability, but this request was disregarded.
The statement recalled the various incidences of building disasters across the country, adding that the Ogun State government will not fold its arms and allow such an occurrence.
It noted that many such disasters, such as fire outbreaks at Ikorodu, led to the loss of precious lives.
According to the Permanent Secretary, what the government did in partially pulling down the defective building was to be proactive.
Abiodun, however, challenged the owners of the structure to produce evidence of government approval in their possession.
He said that for a commercial building of that status, there must be parking space to accommodate vehicular traffic within and outside the facility for workers and visitors, saying that the provision of the law is for 45 to 50 per cent of available land for construction as a buildable area.
The Permanent Secretary added that the building lacked stage certification, which is usually issued at every stage of construction.
He said that owners were served the necessary notices, including abatement, contravention, stop work and demolition between May and October 2022, which were ignored.
According to the statement, DATKEM Enterprises Limited submitted an application for an office building, located along Ibadan Road, Ijebu-Ode in 2009 with registration number CB/05/299/2009
He said: “The proposal was for five (5) floors with an airspace of 3 metres at the right, 5m at the left, 5metres at the rear and a setback of 32.5516 metres to the middle of Ijebu-Ode/Ibadan Road, Ijebu-Ode.
“The Zonal Town Planning Office observed during routine monitoring that the construction on site did not conform to the plan granted as there was a deviation from the airspaces and setback”, the statement read.
Meanwhile, the Project Manager and developer, Adeolumi Environmental Services Ltd, the construction company in charge of the building, Engr Olusegun Lawal, said the ground floor and mezzanine of the building is a banking hall fully fitted with bank trap doors and CHUBB Strong Room while the third floor is to house the Ogun East Senatorial Office.
He said the Kone Elevator had been installed in the Plaza with about 80 Brand new Split Air Conditioners just installed by a reputable company.
He listed other facilities in the building including a 150kVA electricity generating set, a transformer and a fire fighting system.
According to him, the reasons given by the government for ordering the demolition including inadequate car space, inadequate muster point (space outside the building where people can gather in case of fire or emergency) and inadequate airspace are flimsy.
While puncturing all the claims, Engr Lawal said the company provided enough car space for which the empty piece of land at the back of the building was being negotiated for lease to complement car parking.
On muster point, he said there was ample space around the building that could be used for the purpose.
He also said “There is enough airspace as there is no single adjoining building around the 4 sides of the building. There is also no concrete fence but only metal grills to ensure proper airflow.”
The demolition reportedly took place at 3 am Sunday 10 September 2023.
Eighteen-Eleven Media