Lagos shuts down 840 event centers and social facilities

The Lagos State Government has shut down over 840 event centers and social facilities in the last year due to safety violations and non-compliance with existing laws.

This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Gbenga Oyerinde, at a ministerial news conference in Ikeja, Lagos yesterday.

He said that the Lagos State Safety Commission carried out enforcement actions at 840 facilities, including event centers, clubs, lounges, hotels, and construction sites, for safety infractions in the interest of public safety.

Examples of facilities that were shut down include Lekki Conservation Centre and Quilox, among others. Additionally, about 7,819 facilities were inspected to ensure safety, with 5,220 of them issued with fire safety compliance certificates.

The Commission, through its environmental safety, has also carried out at least 365 advocacy initiatives to promote safety awareness and compliance.

He noted that the State Fire and Rescue Service have prioritised fire mitigation and emergency response strategies, aligning with the administration’s THEMES Plus Agenda. The service has responded to 1,906 incidents, including 1,461 incidents in 2023 and 445 incidents in the first quarter of 2024.

According to Oyerinde, the welfare of personnel has received a boost, with special allowances approved for firefighters. The allowances include uniform maintenance, shift allowances, hazard allowance, and provision of personal protective equipment. Capacity development has also been prioritised through both foreign and local training and retraining programs to ensure readiness for emerging trends to mitigate fire incidents in the state.

The state has constructed fire stations, modern workshops for the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, and an access road to the 3rd Relief Camp. Land spaces have been identified for the development of additional fire stations in Ibeju-Lekki and Ifako-Ijaiye.

To ensure safety in state-owned schools, the government has approved the engagement, deployment, and payment of allowances to 1,356 Nigeria Legionnaires, including personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps.

The Lagos State Government also collaborated with the Ministry of Environment to improve the state of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) temporary orientation camp (Youth Hostel) at Iyana-Ipaja.

The government implemented electronic clearance to reduce paperwork and the stress of manually sorting NYSC clearance forms.