Lagos Govt Seals Block Molding Industries Over Building Collapse

The Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSTML) has sealed some block molding factories in the Ikorodu axis of Lagos State during its enforcement exercise aimed at ensuring that quality materials are used for molding blocks.

Speaking during the operation, the General Manager of the Agency, Dr. Tajudeen Afolabi said the State government has declared zero tolerance for building collapse in Lagos State, as such the LSMTL is beaming its searchlight on molding industries as part of efforts towards bringing an end to building collapse in the State.

The General Manager also declared that any block industry that fails to meet the stipulated standards will be sealed, adding that operators must have the seal of LSMTL on their products to identify genuine materials.

He maintained that the present administration is committed to making sure that those involved in the production and sale of building materials adhere to required standards, noting that the State government will sanitize the built industry to ensure safety and stoppage of building collapse.

Afolabi said: “In the course of the enforcement exercise eight block-molding industries were visited while seven were sealed for not meeting the required standards. We also took samples of the blocks produced from each factory, tagged and moved them to the Agency laboratory for testing, which will be done in the presence of the owners to ascertain the strength of the blocks”.

“The source of the water used for mixing the materials was also questioned and samples were collected to be tested at the Agency’s Laboratory,” he added.

While appealing to members of the public to contact the agency in case of any illegal activity being done by block molding factories in their environment, Afolabi said the exercise would be a continuous one across all Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas of the State.