Lagos Safety Commission Suspends Audits Of Tech Hubs 

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

Co-working spaces and innovation hubs in Lagos, Nigeria will no longer be the subject of scheduled safety checks, according to the Lagos State Safety Commission (LASG Safety).

An announcement that the LASG Safety will perform safety checks of co-working spaces and technology hubs between September and November 2022 was made by the tech newspaper Techpoint Africa on Wednesday.

By performing risk evaluations of their facilities and making appropriate suggestions, these audits would make sure that tech hubs complied with standards of practice, according to letters of introduction given to tech hubs.

All coworking spaces and innovation hubs would have to pay a yearly fee of 150,000 ($347) for the audits, according to the first notification. The cost is made up of a 50,000 (or $115.92) documentation charge and a 100,000 (or $231.84) certification fee that should be paid to LASG Safety.

On social media, the revelation of the yearly levies was met with dissatisfaction and fury, and many people accused the Lagos State administration of unfairly punishing the region’s thriving tech industry.

After the news surfaced, LASG Safety sent TechCabal a press statement in which it announced the suspension of the audits and described its business practices.

The aim of the audit fees is stated by LASG Safety in a statement that is signed by DG Lanre Mojola:

“The fee is statutorily associated with facilities that engage and welcome members of the public beyond a certain footfall in many businesses and civic sectors. This includes restaurants, cinemas, event spaces, schools, clubs, etc,” the statement reads. LASG further explains that the fee is set to cover the costs of “safety inspections and audits with experts and specialized equipment”.

In order to guarantee sufficient stakeholder participation, the Safety Commission also said that it would postpone the audits that were scheduled.