Less than 24 hours after distraught relatives and friends lamented that they were barred from seeing survivors of the collapsed 21-storey building on Gerard Road in Ikoyi, the State Government has offered an explanation why the management of Lagos General Hospital may not be keen to discharge them.
This was disclosed by Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who visited the victims in the emergency wards of the general hospital on Thursday.
WuzupNigeria has reported on Wednesday that aggrieved relatives who besieged the emergency ward were seen exchanging heated debates with the security personnel manning the entrance.
One of the operatives who spoke with WuzupNigeria on condition of anonymity disclosed that they were given a strict directive not to allow anybody into the ward while the patients are undergoing treatment.
The growing tension in front of the emergency wards, at a point, became unbearable for some relatives who tried to force their way in.
But the guards stood their ground, saying the instruction applies to everybody including journalists and families of the patients.
Sanwo-Olu in General Hospital’s emergency wards to see surivivors
However, Governor Sanwo-Olu on Thursday gave conditions under which the survivors on admission would be discharged from the health facility.
The governor stated that the patients can only be discharged when the medical team gives an all-clear concerning their condition.
“I visited the survivors of the building collapse this morning, and gave them my word that they will get the best of care in the hospital, and will not be discharged until they have been given the all-clear by the medical team attending to them.
“As much as we sympathise with all concerned, we will also ensure that we are open and thorough in investigating the cause of the collapse.
“In that regard, a high-powered professional investigative panel has been set up, whose membership consists of professionals outside of the Government. The panel, which is headed by the President of Nigeria Institute of Town Planners, Toyin Ayinde, has been given clear terms of reference, with a 30-day assignment to tell us what went wrong at the site.
“The panel’s terms of reference also include ascertaining whether there was a compromise of the building codes by the developer, his contractor, and statutory regulatory agencies,” he said.
