Lagos Govt confirms school building collapse, no casualty

The Lagos State Government has confirmed the collapse of a bungalow classroom block at Odokekere High School, Ikorodu, saying no casualty was recorded in the incident.

Mr Hakeem Smith,  Chairman,  Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools (SCRPS) in the state, said this in a statement on Friday.

Smith  said  the news came as a shock and expressed regret over the unfortunate development.

The residents of the Odo-Kekere Community in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state, on Thursday evening, were thrown into panic following the sudden partial collapse of a structure in a local public school in the area.

According to the community, the affected classroom block had earlier been marked for demolition as part of plans to construct a modern classroom edifice to cater for the school’s growing student population.

“The building that collapsed was already classified for demolition under our ongoing school rehabilitation programme.

“All our students are safe and in perfect condition, as the incident did not result in any loss of life or injuries.”

He said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had directed the immediate relocation of students to nearby schools to ensure that academic activities were not disrupted.

“A team of officials from the SCRPS are  scheduled to visit the school for an on-the-spot assessment to enable the government to work out modalities for  immediate construction of an ultra-modern classroom block,” he said.

The Lagos state government reiterated commitment to providing safe and conducive learning environment across public schools in the state.(NAN)

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government, Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools (SCRPS) hss expressed shock and sadness over the collapse of the classroom block at Odokekere High School in Ikorodu, Lagos.

It said the state government regrets the unfortunate incident, confirming, however, that the building had been marked for demolition.

“We also wish to state that no casualty was recorded at the building collapse. All of our students are in perfect condition.

“The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has also ordered immediate relocation of the pupils to nearby schools, so as not to disrupt their academic activities,” the officials of SCRPS stated.

The officials said the assessment of the incident was to enable government work out modalities, to begin immediate construction of an ultra-modern classroom block, that will accommodate the huge population in the school.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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