By THOMPSON YAMPUT

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has given a directive for the suspension of reclamation activities on Banana Island, Lagos, pending an investigation by Lagos State government.

Dr George Moghalu, NIWA Managing Director gave the directive in a statement issued by the authority’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mr Jibril Darda’u, in Lokoja on Friday.

Darda’u said that the halting or suspension of reclamation activities on the island became imperative in view of the recent collapsed storey building and the alleged blame on the authority over the incident.

He said that managing director, who has visited the site of the incident, had also directed the immediate suspension of all reclamation activities within the Island pending the conclusion of the investigation.

The Image maker expressed regret over a misleading report that had gone viral and distorted account of what transpired over the collapsed building in Banana Island.

“The authority hereby vehemently dissociates itself from the statements and allegations made against it over the collapsed building in Banana Island as contained in the said publication.

“The information contained in the publication are false, baseless and a misrepresentation of the issues that led to the collapse of the building in Banana Island with intent of misleading members of the public regarding what had actually happened.

“The good news is that Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sawolu, had said that responsibility for building approval rest with the state and specifically stated that some officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) are corrupt,” he said.

He added that with the governor’s statement, building permits “are within the jurisdiction of state governments” and that where such permits are illegally obtained such faults or omission can only be attributed to the state government.

He recalled that a authority was established by NIWA Act CAP N47 LFN 2004 and “there is no provision in the said Act where the authority is mandated by law to issue building permits/approvals and Certificate of Occupancy.”

“The authority has never granted any licence or permit in respect of the site where the collapse occurred.

“The responsibility to inspect every stage of building construction remains that of Lagos State government and its officials and where there are failures in the performance of such duties the blame should not be transferred to the Federal Government, particularly National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

“In the light of the above, the allegations raised against NIWA are short of facts and carry no weight,” he said. (NAN)

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