SYNAGOGUE BUILDING COLLAPSE: SENATE BEGINS PROBE

The Senate has begun the probe of the collapsed guest house at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos.One hundred and fifteen people, mostly South Africans, died in the incident.

The Overseer of the church, Pastor T. B. Joshua, was declared persona non grata yesterday in South Africa by youths of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

The party’s youth league spokesman Bandile Masuku said: “T. B. Joshua should not be allowed to come to South Africa until we know what happened to our fellow countrymen at his church.

“We will make sure we engage with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to make sure they do not issue him a South African visa.”

Joshua had said he planned  to visist South Africa to commiserate with the families of the dead.

In Abuja, the Senate said it had mandated its Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development to investigate the circumstances surrounding the building collapse.

It mandated the committee to conduct a public hearing on incessant building collapse in the country.

This followed the adoption of a motion, entitled: “The alarming rate of building collapse in Nigeria,” following the collapse of the Synagogue guest house on September 12.

Appalled by the high casualty and the injured, the Senate urged all agencies involved in rescue operations, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), fire service, Red Cross, the police, the Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to be prompt about rescue operations.

The sponsor of the motion, Abdulmumin Hassan (Jigawa South West), regretted that the rate of building collapse in the country had become horrifying.

Barnabas Gemade (Benue Northeast) noted that there was a fundamental problem about the construction industry. Regulatory agencies, he said, should prevent a recurrence.

Ita Enang, George Thompson and Joshua Dariye also spoke on the motion.

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, noted that building collapse was increasing because of incompetence among those in the sector.

He said authorities should  discourage the collection of money without going to site among those charged with building supervision.

The senator said professionals found culpable in building collapse should lose their licences.

Also, the Lagos State Government said it would wait for a comprehensive report on the investigation into the  collapse Synagogue Church’s guest house before taking actions.

Information and Strategy Commissioner Aderemi Ibirogba said the state was working with Federal Government’s committee on the matter.