31st January 2024
Oluyinka Olumide

Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide

The Lagos State Government is set to commence the removal of illegal building attachments and conversions across the state in two weeks.

This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, in a statement on Wednesday.

He frowned at the practice of illegally converting residential to commercial premises and unduly erecting attachments to buildings, describing that it was high time for sanity and orderliness to reign across the state.

He said, “The state would not tolerate the spate of lawlessness witnessed in commercial centres such as Lagos Island, Ikeja, and Iyana-Ipaja, where shops are illegally extended with sheds and steel external stairways in a bid to attract customers.”

Olumide gave a two-week ultimatum for owners of illegal extensions to remove them, failing which the State Government would commence statewide demolition of such structures, precisely on 15th February, starting from Lagos Island.

Panic heightens among market traders over Lagos govt quit notice
Lagos removes illegal shops, shanties on Lagos Island
Effect renovation on distressed buildings or face removal, Lagos warns
In the same vein, the commissioner asked those who erected structures within the right of way of power lines, canals, and pipelines to prepare for massive enforcement by the ministry in two weeks’ time.

He stressed that the government would stop at nothing to ensure a livable and sustainable built environment.

The Lagos State Government had earlier given a 14-day ultimatum on Monday to owners of adjoining structures and shanties within and around the Mandilas building recently engulfed by fire to vacate and remove all illegal structures within the area or risk sanctions from the government.

This ultimatum was issued on Monday during a joint enforcement visit to the site of the fire incident by some key government agencies in the built sector including the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Central Business District, Lagos State Task Force, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, among others.

Josephine Ogundeji
Josephine, a correspondent with The PUNCH has over two years experience covering the building industry and the personal finance ecosystem

Kindly share this story:

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

lexylaw40kuti:
31st January 2024
Oluyinka Olumide

Are Igbos the only people living in Lagos?

If this report is true, I support Lagos state government on this one.

Still will fail like all the previous ones they have done before to incite igbos to react by destroying their properties and then blame igbos for their abysmal failure and inability to govern.Igbos are still steps ahead of them in this distraction game and they must even if they dish out 50 million propagandas must account to Nigerians for their abysmal leadership failure

In as much as the city needs cleansing from all shanties, illegal structures and distressed buildings, I still feel ample time should be given for necessary amendments to be effected.

People who are grappling with how to feed themselves may not be buoyant enough to carry on such capital intensive remediation at the moment.