The Lagos State Govern
ment has announced plans to curtail the activities of unlicensed electricians as part of efforts to check frequent fire incidents in the state.
The Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mrs Dominga Odebunmi, told our correspondent on Thursday, that the measure became necessary in view of frequent fire incidents in Lagos in recent times.
Odebunmi urged residents of the state to desist from patronising unlicensed electricians, adding that the activities of quack electricians had been responsible for some fire incidents.
“Don’t patronise quacks or Do-it-yourself (DIY) electricians that will just do joining and bypasses, tie up wires in such a way that little sparks are enough to ignite and trigger fire.
“The commission has come up with a safety card for competent electricians in the state. When you call for electricians, ask them for their safety card.
“If they don’t have the safety card from the commission, it means you are patronising a quack.
“Safety is a collective responsibility. The government alone cannot do it, so we need people that are involved directly with different trades to ensure that they imbibe the advocacy and guidelines of government,” Odebunmi said.
She said that the advocacy programmes would be held in collaboration with all government agencies directly responsible for controlling activities in markets, homes and workplaces to ensure safety.
“When fire incidents happen, it doesn’t just affect the shop or property owners alone. It affects lives, houses, a whole range of shops, commerce and properties worth millions.
“It throws a lot of standard and order into disarray. People are turned destitute and impoverished; business owners become debtors and some even go bankrupt.
“We are advising people to imbibe safety as a culture, as it is a critical tool of development that is vital to our life.”
According to her, the government will put the measures, guidelines, control on how to comply and advocate with the public till it stems the tide of fire incidents in the state.
“After all these and we still find people wanting, then it means there is a need for enforcement.
“It means those kind of people need to be brought to face the wrath of the law. They will go through reprimand, restitution, pay penalty and might even lose their right to do certain things for a while.