Synagogue Collapse: We Had Approval For Additional Floors

The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos said the church had approval from the Lagos state government to build a 12-storey building.

This was in reaction to reports that the collapsed SCOAN guest house which used to be a 2-storey building was converted into six floors without permission from the Lagos state government.

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Speaking yesterday, September 29, during an interview with Channels Television, Mr. Ken Emeakayi, a spokesman for Emmanuel Television (a media outfit of the church) said the church had approval to erect a 12-story building in the place but had only stopped at six floors.

He said: “The building is still under construction, but it is not as if it is an attachment to the church auditorium. It is a building standing on its own and in a different compound. It is a guest house. It is a building that has its own design and approval. This particular structure in question, has an approval for 12-storey building and they have even come to examine the foundation and its casting after this incident. They have therefore seen that it was done with the specification of a 12-storey building.”

He debunked reports that the church had not followed standard rules in the construction of the building.

Speaking on NEMA’s claims that they were denied access by church members into where the collapsed building was, the church’s spokesperson said the persons referred to as members of the church must be sympathisers.

He however called on agencies investigating the incident to thoroughly look at the whole issue and not just concentrate on standard of the building structure, adding that the strange aircraft theory should also be investigated.

When Vanguard contacted the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, he declined comment on the matter saying: “There will be no further comment on the collapsed Synagogue building until investigations into the matter are concluded and the report made public.”

Following the September 12 collapse of the Synagogue guest house, the Lagos state government had set up a coroner of inquest for the purpose of investigating the cause of the collapse which reportedly killed no fewer than 115 people.

Meanwhile, Governor Babatunde Fashola had yesterday said the Lagos State Government would follow due process in the investigation of the Synagogue collapse.

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