Demolition looms as Lagos commissioner says 80% of buildings in Lekki lack approval

The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development,.Olayinka Olumide, said on Monday 80 percent of buildings in the Ibeju Lekki-Epe corridor have no government approval.

The statement has this sparked fear of impending mass demolition in the corridor.

Olumide’s remark followed the recent demolition exercise in the Maryland area of the state.

In a chat with journalists, the commissioner said despite the rigorous procedures involved in securing government approval, property developers and owners are still circumventing due process.

He said: “Just last Thursday and Friday, my team and I were in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis and you would agree that anybody passing through that corridor would see a lot of estates marked,” he said.

READ ALSO:Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway: Obi defends demolitions during his tenure as Anambra gov

“We went there, and I can tell you that from what we saw, over 80 percent of them do not have approval.

“The procedure to get approval is first to get the planning information, as to what those areas have been zoned for. In this case, what we have is agricultural land, and people now go to their families to buy agricultural land.

“Of course, those lands would be sold because those families do not know the use such land would be put to.

“The next thing to do is the fence permit. If you missed the earlier information on not knowing the area zoning, at the point of getting the fence permit, you would be able to detect what the area is zoned for. After that, the layout permits a large expanse of land.

“So, you can see all these layers. But people still go ahead to start advertising. Some have even gone to the extent of displaying the sizes they want to sell. Imagine someone in the diaspora who wants to send money without any knowledge.

“Then, no approval is eventually gotten. Even if they pass the assignment and the survey to them, we would not grant the individual permit, because that area is not zoned for that purpose.”

By: Babajide Okeowo

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