Collapse building kills 8, injures 33 in Lagos

Collapsed Building Kills 8, Injures 33 in Lagos

At least eight people have so far been confirmed dead, while 33 others received various degrees of injury in a collapsed four-storey building located on 4 Mogaji Street, Idumota/Ebute-Ero area of Lagos Island. The building caved in around 11.30pm on Tuesday.

    It was gathered that the building, which is about 10 years old, trapped many of the residents including the secretary of the Community Development Association (CDA), Mr. Tajudeen Adeyemi, and his wife who were later rescued by the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA) and the state mobile ambulance personnel with the adequate support of the youths in the area. 

  According to the councillor of Ward A3, Hon Shewu Tijani Adisa Makanjuola, who witnessed the tragedy: "The building cracked and collapsed at exactly 11.30pm on Tuesday night and youths in our area commenced rescue operation while we called 767 security number to alert the state government which responded promptly.

"The quick response of LASEMA, police, LASAMBUS and fire service officials with the assistance of youths in the area saved the situation because it could have been worse than this."

     Some of the youths that were involved in the rescue operation told our correspondent that only people who lived at the 4th, 3rd and some at the 2nd floors were rescued, while some in those floors died.

   "Some of the people living on the 2nd and 1st floors were still trapped in the wreckage because the building caved in, compressing the entire ground floor. When that happens, rescue mission becomes difficult," he added. As at the time of filling this report, efforts were still being made by all the government agencies and youths in the area to rescue others that were trapped in the building.

Govt close-in on oil firms over Nigerian content quota compliance

Govt close-in on oil firms over Nigerian content quota compliance

By Sulaimon Salau 

The Federal Government is moving a step further to ensure full compliance with the local content quota set for the multinational oil firms by the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCMDB), in line with Local Content Act 2010.

The General Manager, Projects and Operations, NCMDB….N.S Etim-Ukut , who spoke during the official commissioning of the GIL Automations and Control Services Nigeria’s Industrial Automation Training facility in Lagos recently, said the board is presently strategising to ensure strict enforcement of the Nigerian content quota.

  He warned that any firm found wanting of breach of the law would face the necessary sanctions.

  He however stressed that the NCMDB has established mechanisms to ensure that stakeholders and all such projects engage training providers and training facilities to provide project specific training in the oil and gas industry. Memorandum of Agreement and Training Services Agreement are now mandatory for all contracts in the industry. Training of Nigerians will therefore be done in Nigerian training facilities such as the GIL as long as there is capacity in-country. 

   Etim Ukut acknowledged GIL for the training facility put together to buoy the Local Content Agenda, assuring that the board is determined to promote capacity building in-country and ensure they are fully utilized.

  The Chief Executive Officer, GIL Automations and Control Services Nigeria Limited, Mr. Lawal Gbolahan, said the firm is poised to improve the capacities of Nigerians on system integration, hence the need to set up the industrial automation training centre.

   According to him, Nigerians can do better in system integration, if given an opportunity.

   We have found out that there is no course in Nigerian Universities that actually fit into automation, the closest we have is electrical engineering, mechanical and chemical engineering, but they don’t go into a half of the process, nobody teaches these technical areas of how the I.T or technology mixes up with industrial process control system.

   So, it is based on this that we floated this training centre, we know that this will have a long term effect in localizing the technology, giving access to technology acquisition skills, and ultimately boost local economy.

   GIL Automation is an indigenous technical solution and system integration company, that provides complete industrial control, automation, instrumentation and metering, measurement and system integration services to companies in oil and gas, power and manufacturing industries.

   The Project Engineer, Mr. Akande Olawale, said GIL Automations aim at bridging the gap of Automation process and Integration system for starters, intermediate technical personnel and skilled professionals.

   He said the training materials were built in compliance with industrial leading standards such as ISA, NFPA, IEC, IEEE, IET, OSHA among other, while the use of authorized industry videos were also adopted to buttress the class lessons.

   According to him, about 23 courses were available, including  industrial automation, such; Control and Automation, Instrumentation and Metering, Electrical and Power System, Safety and Security System

  Other courses cover designing, installation, operation and maintenance of systems in various automation projects like PLC, SCADA/HMI, DCS, Instrumentation and Process Control, Electrical and Power System Modelling and aAnalysis, CCTV, Access Control, Intrusion Detection and Fire and Gas Detection Systems among others.