MD/CEO, NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu.

The National Inland Waterways Authority NIWA, Federal Government’s apex agency for the regulation of jetties and inland waterways, transport and allied matters has said the agency is not in any way culpable in the last month collapse of a building on the Banana Island in Lagos. The agency insists that it is neither within its powers to issue building permits nor inspect such projects.

Recall that the Managing Director/CEO of NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu had visited the site of the incident and ordered the immediate suspension of all reclamation activities within the island pending the conclusion of the investigation as ordered by the Lagos State Government.

General Manager, Corporate Affairs unit of the agency, Jibril Darda’u, in a statement in reaction to an online newspaper report (not Business and Transport Newspaper), which alleged that the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu accused NIWA of being culpable in the collapse of the building, which was still under construction.

The General Manager also took exception to the alleged description of the officials of the agency as reckless in the manner they issue permits without regard to the topography of the area and that the site of the collapsed building was not originally part of the Island’s plan, saying that the report does not reflect what transpired over the collapse of the building.

According to him, contrary to claims by the Lagos State Government, investigations by NIWA show that the collapsed building was constructed on lines 15 and 16 of the original plan of Banana Island thus the said collapse building was not constructed on any subsequent extensions. He also argued that the responsibility to inspect every stage of building construction remains that of Lagos State Government and her officials and where there are failures in the performance of such duties the blame should not be transferred to the Federal Government particularly NIWA.

Citing the enabling NIWA Act CAP N47 LFN 2004, which established the agency, Darda’u argued that there is no provision in the said Act where the authority is mandated by law to issue building permits/approvals and Certificate of Occupancy C of O. He added NIWA as a law abiding agency of Federal Government and in compliance with its establishing Act, only issues permit for “Use of Right of Way, activities within the waterways of Nigeria and reclamation but never to grant any license or permit in respect of the site where the collapse occurred.

The statement reads in part: “The attention of the National Inland Waterways Authority NIWA has been drawn to a misleading report that has gone viral on the social media. The report carried a distorted account of what transpired over the collapsed building on Banana Island. In the said publication, the Lagos State Governor was quoted to have accused the Federal Government agencies particularly NIWA of being culpable in the incident of building collapse on the highbrow Banana Island. The Governor was also said to have described officials of NIWA to be reckless in the manner they issue permits without regard to the topography of the area and that the site of the collapsed building was not originally part of the island’s plan.

“NIWA vehemently dissociates itself from the statements and allegations of the Lagos State Government over the collapsed building on 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 authority categorically states that the Lagos State Government in the said publication admitted that it is the State Government’s responsibility to issue building approval. In the words of the Governor as quoted “… we have responsibility for building approval. All of the four building at the back never got our approval. This is an illegality that is real. In another admission by the Lagos State Governor, he specifically stated that some officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency LASBCA are corrupt, stressing that they would be held responsible for the recent collapse of a seven story building on the island.

“Following from the above, it is glaringly clear that building permits are within the jurisdiction of state governments in Nigeria including Lagos State. Therefore, where such permits are illegally obtained, such faults or omission can only be attributed to the State Government that issued them and not the Federal Government or any of its agencies as in the instant case.

“NIWA as a law abiding agency of Federal Government and in compliance with its establishing Act issues permits for “Use of Right of Way, activities within the Waterways of Nigeria, and reclamation. The Authority never granted any license or permit in respect of the site where the collapse occurred.

“Investigations carried out shows that the collapsed building was constructed on lines 15 and 16 of the original plan of Banana Island thus the said collapse building was not constructed on any subsequent extensions. The responsibility to inspect every stage of building construction remains that of Lagos State Government and her officials and where there are failures in the performance of such duties the blame should not be transferred to the Federal Government particularly NIWA.

“In the light of the above, the allegations by Lagos State Government against NIWA are short on facts and carries no weight.”