LAGOS, Nigeria – Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has ordered the immediate suspension of Mrs. Adenike Adekanbi, General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency, LASIAMA.
The announcement was made on Sunday in Lagos by Mr. Olumide Sogunle, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy.
Sanwo-Olu approved the suspension after an investigative panel reviewed the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. Diaso Vwaere in an elevator accident.
Dr. Vwaere, a medical house officer with the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, died on August 1 from injuries sustained when the elevator she was in crashed in the hospital staff quarters.
According to the Governor, LASIAMA oversees the facility management company responsible for the house officers quarters at the hospital.
In light of the incident, the facility managers have been sacked and blacklisted, and their operations and line of reporting have been restructured to involve the hospital management directly.
Sanwo-Olu confirmed that the installation and maintenance contractors have been handed over to the police for further investigation and potential prosecution if found culpable.
“The police will also investigate anyone else that might have been found to be negligent,” he added.
Engineers are working to understand why all the safety devices of the elevator failed simultaneously.
“Elevator experts, working with the Lagos Safety Commission, have carried out an initial inspection and will be removing the elevator for further mechanical examination to determine why the safety features that should prevent this kind of accident did not work,” said Sanwo-Olu.
He noted that the elevator was newly installed in 2021 and the examination findings would determine if there is a case against the elevator installer.
In response to the tragic incident, Sanwo-Olu directed the Lagos Safety Commission to carry out an immediate audit of all elevators in public offices, besides existing safety measures.
The Governor stated that all state staff are fully insured, and the state’s life insurance providers have been informed about the incident.
Sanwo-Olu extended his condolences to the family and colleagues of the deceased, stating, ‘as a government, we feel the pain of this irreparable loss’.
