Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, has raised alarm over the alarming rate of unapproved buildings in the Ibeju Lekki area.
In a recent interview, Olumide disclosed that a staggering 80% of the buildings in the region lack proper approval from the authorities.
During a recent inspection in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis, Olumide and his team observed numerous estates marked for development.
Shockingly, the majority of these estates, totaling over 80%, were found to be operating without the necessary approvals.
Explaining the process for obtaining approval, Olumide emphasized the importance of adhering to zoning regulations.
He said, “Just last week Thursday and Friday, myself and the team were in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis and you would agree with me that anybody passing through that corridor would see a lot of estates marked. We went there, and I can tell you that from what we saw, over 80 per cent 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 expense of land follows.”
Despite the clear regulations and procedures, Olumide expressed concern over individuals proceeding with development and advertising properties without proper approval.
He warned against the risks involved, particularly for those investing from abroad without adequate knowledge of the area’s zoning regulations.
“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,” he said.