Abolade Sokunbi, Abeokuta
The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has announced that the State would soon come up with a law that will jail any official in the building industry, indicted for compromising standards in erecting structures.
Abiodun stated this in Abeokuta while reacting to the presentation made by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Planning, Mrs. Yetunde Dina at the Treasury Board Meeting on the year 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and 2022 Budget, saying no official of the State government would be spared for his involvement in building collapse in the State.
“I am coming up with a law that will send indicted workers in the building industry to jail. I am going to ensure that there is something in our law that will send head of Building Control Agency that are culprit to prison, if a building collapses in the State under his or her watch.
“If somebody was given approval to construct a story building and you find out that the person has started decking for the second floor, you should serve him a stop order and penalty, for exceeding the original approval. I am more concerned about the welfare of our people”, the Governor said.
Abiodun, said his government had grown the State’s economy by 20 percent last year and performance of 2020 budget was now over 70 percent, saying “we will achieve 85 percent by the end of the year”.
He explained that the State opted to support the call by some State governments to collect Value Added Tax, so as to ensure that those who generate VAT, collect and enjoy it.
Governor Abiodun urged the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to continue to think out of the box, in order to generate more funds for the development of the State, calling for transparency and prudence.
