80% Of Lekki Buildings Have No Approval – Lagos Government

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos, Oluyinka Olumide has revealed that 80 percent of buildings in the Ibeju Lekki-Epe area lack government approval.

The Lagos state government has been under scrutiny for its recent demolition of buildings and shanties across the state.

Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner for Environment in Lagos, has consistently emphasized that the demolished structures were erected in violation of the city’s masterplan, lacking approval from relevant agencies, and obstructing drainage channels.

In an interview with journalists, Olumide highlighted the challenges in securing government approval, noting that property developers and owners often bypass due process.

“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.

“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.”

Regarding the recent demolitions in Maryland, Wahab clarified that property owners had been served notices since 2021.

He emphasized that the demolitions were conducted to remove obstructions from drainage channels, in accordance with the law.

KanyiDaily recalls that Nigerian singer, Yemi Alade had slammed the Lagos State government over the recent demolitions of homes in the Mende area of Maryland.