Business
Three Die In Lagos Building Collapse
The Lagos State
Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) last Thursday confirmed that three persons died on Wednesday night following the collapse of two residential buildings on Lagos Island.
The LASEMA General Manager, Mr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, told newsmen in Ikeja that 10 persons were also injured in the incident which occurred at about 11.30 p.m.
Oke-Osanyintolu said the incident occurred when a three-storey building located on Alli Street, Lagos Island, collapsed on a bungalow beside it.
He said his men with other emergency response officials had to dig into the rubble to remove the dead victims and the injured.
According to him, the injured are being treated at an undisclosed public hospital while the remains of the dead victims have been deposited at the hospital morgue.
Oke-Osanyintolu, who said the cause of the collapse had not been ascertained, noted that a number of distressed buildings had been identified in the area.
“We will carry out investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident. Commissioners and emergency officials were on ground early today to really find out what happened.
“We are studying the situation, and we will definitely unravel the cause,’’ he said.
He said no fewer than 10 cases of building collapse had been recorded on the Island this year alone.
The general manager urged residents to subject their buildings to structural testing by the appropriate government agency to help address the problem.
The newsmen reports that Governor Babatunde Fashola, had on May 19, inaugurated a Tribunal of Enquiry on Building Collapse in the state, with the mandate to ascertain the causes of the menace and make recommendations.
The six-man committee, which has since commenced work, is yet to submit its reports to the state government.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
