The Lagos State government on Sunday night sacked the facility managers handling public assets following the death of a medical doctor in an elevator accident in one of the hospitals in the state.
The victim, Diaso Vwaere, who was a house officer at the Lagos Island General Hospital in Odan, died when an elevator carrying her from the hospital’s 10th floor crashed last Tuesday.
The incident sparked angry responses from her colleagues who staged a peaceful protest and disrupted activities in the hospital for several hours.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) had since declared an indefinite strike at the hospital and two others in Lagos Island over safety concerns.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Olumide Sogunle, who confirmed the development in a statement in Ikeja, said the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA) had also been suspended indefinitely over the incident.
The statement read: “The Lagos State Government would like to, once again, acknowledge with deep regret the unfortunate elevator accident of Tuesday, 1st August 2023 at the House Officer’s residence of the General Hospital, Odan, which resulted in the death of Dr. Vwaere Diaso, a vibrant young house officer.
“We commiserate with her family and her colleagues and pray for the repose of her soul. As a government, we feel the pain of this irreparable loss. May The Almighty console them and give them the strength to go through this difficult time.
“Following the incident, we immediately set up a panel to look into its likely causes, identify persons who might be culpable, and suggest ways of preventing any future occurrence. The panel has now concluded its deliberations and submitted its report.
Based on our initial findings the Lagos State Government has taken the following actions:
◦ We have sacked and blacklisted the Facility Managers
◦ The GM of Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency is to immediately proceed on suspension
◦ The operations and line of reporting of the facility managers have been restructured to involve the hospital management directly
◦ We have handed the installation and maintenance contractors to the police for further investigation and likely prosecution if they are found culpable. The police will also investigate anyone else that might have been found to be negligent
◦ Engineers are working to unravel why all the safety devices of the elevator failed at the same time
◦ All our staff are fully insured. We have informed our life insurance providers about this incident.
◦ The Lagos Safety Commission has been directed to immediately carry out an audit of all elevators in public offices. This is besides the usual safety arrangements that have always existed.
