Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, highlighted a concerning statistic regarding construction in Ibeju Lekki, stating that a staggering 80 percent of buildings lack official approval.
In a recent interview with journalists, he revealed, “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.”
Olumide emphasized the importance of adhering to proper procedures for approval. He explained, “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.” He further detailed the steps involved, including obtaining a fence permit and layout permit, stressing that these permits cannot be obtained if the land is not appropriately zoned.
Similarly, Jide Odusolu, the Chief Executive Officer of Octo5 Holdings, pointed out the deviations from the original master plan for the Lekki Peninsula. He stated, “The Lekki peninsula had a master plan which was originally launched when Bola Tinubu was the governor and updated under Babatunde Fashola. Almost all large estates along the Lekki corridor, especially those developed between 2000-2008, have approved layout plans. It was obligatory and rigidly enforced by the state government.” However, he noted that post-2010, rapid development led to distortions in the plans, with newer estates avoiding previous regulations.
Femi Oyedele, the Managing Director of Fame at Oyster & Co. Nigeria, emphasized the need for coordinated planning in Lekki. He remarked, “To do Lekki better, those estates which have been approved on the west and east arterial roads, which go down to Awoyaya on the east side and to Akodo on the west side of Lekki-Epe Expressway, must be demolished to make way for the planned roads.”
Oyedele advocated for a restoration similar to that of Abuja under Mallan Nasir El-Rufai’s tenure as FCT Minister, citing the population density of Lekki and the necessity for improved infrastructure.
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