The Lagos State Government has given a week’s grace as a final warning to estate developments operating in the state without approved layout plans to regularise their documents or face sanction.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, who led an on-the-spot warning and sensitisation exercise across parts of the Eti-Osa corridor on Tuesday, said that the final warning was a sequel to the expiration of the grace period earlier granted to all flagged estates to regularise their planning documents.
Olumide said that the State Government had repeatedly stressed the need for all estate promoters to obtain proper approvals before engaging in land subdivision, sales, or construction.
He explained that the affected estates had continued to operate in violation of planning regulations despite earlier notices, stressing that “The government will no longer tolerate developments that compromise orderly and sustainable urban growth.”
The commissioner reiterated that the final one-week warning issued to the erring estates marked the last opportunity for them to submit their layout plans and obtain necessary approvals.
Olumide stated that, after the deadline, the government would apply appropriate sanctions, ranging from heavy fines to demolition, depending on the magnitude of each infraction.
He therefore urged members of the public, especially prospective homebuyers, to always verify the planning status of any estate before committing funds, noting that due diligence remained essential to avoid losses.
Olumide reaffirmed the State Government’s commitment to enforcing planning laws to safeguard the environment and ensure orderly development across the state.
The enforcement team visited, among others, Whiteoak Estate 2, behind VGC and Elite Garden Estate, developed by Bosmark Haven Properties Limited, also behind Victoria Garden City, VGC.
Recall that the state government had earlier identified 176 illegal estate developments, predominantly located in the Eti-Osa, Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki, and Epe axis.
Consequently, it gave owners a 21-day ultimatum to process their layout approvals.
These estates, deemed illegal for failing to obtain layout approvals from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, were listed in a document published by the Ministry.
According to the Permanent Secretary, Office of Physical Planning, Engr. Oluwole Sotire, the illegal estates compromised the sustainable development ethos and the T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Agenda of the Lagos State Government by operating without approved layouts.
The identified illegal estates include: Adron Homes, Elerangbe; Aina Gold Estate, Okun-Folu; Diamond Estate, Eputu; Prime Water View Garden, Ikate Elegushi; and Royal View Estate, Ikota, among others.
The Permanent Secretary said the government gave the owners of the estates 21 days to submit the necessary documents to his office in the Ministry of Planning and Urban Development, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, for processing of their layout approvals.
He stated that the exercise was a routine function of the Ministry, in line with its mandate to regulate the development of public and private estates in Lagos State by processing and granting layout approvals to foster a functional, organised, orderly, and resilient smart city, as encapsulated in the T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Agenda of the Lagos State Government.
Sotire also stressed the importance of all developers and real estate practitioners registering with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, LASRERA, which is responsible for regulating, coordinating, and monitoring real estate practitioners in the sector.
VANGUARD.
