Registration of religious, social centres begins in Lagos

THE Lagos State Safety Commission has opened a register for religious and social centres in its domain. The registration of such centres is in preparation for their full reopening.

It is also in furtherance of the Register-to-Open initiative of the state government, as directed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the commission explained in a statement by Lanre Mojola, its Director-General.

The statement reads: “Further to the directive of Mr Governor with respect to the Register-to-Open initiative of Lagos State government, we hereby confirm that all religious and social centers (social clubs, event centres, restaurants, bars, night clubs, spas, cinemas and gyms) within the state can commence the registration process on the designated portal www.lasgsafetyreg.com immediately.”

Giving an update relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state on May 17, the governor said the government was considering full reopening of the economy, including critical sectors like tourism and hospitality, sporting, event centres, cinemas, entertainment, and religious gatherings.

He, however, said businesses in these sectors would have to undergo re-registration before reopening and that the Lagos State Safety Commission and Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) would be visiting offices and business premises to assess the level of their readiness to resume operation.

Sanyo-Olu said: “We are at a level where we are reviewing the other arms of the economy. In the coming days, we will be starting what we call Register-to-Open, which means all players in the restaurant business, event centres, entertainment, malls and cinemas will go through a form of re-registration and space management.

“There is a regulation that will be introduced to supervise this move. We will be coming to their facilities to assess their level of readiness for a future opening.

“I don’t know when that opening will happen in the weeks ahead but we want these businesses to begin to tune themselves to the reality of COVID-19 with respect to how their work spaces need to look like.”