Effiong lauds Lagos building permit amnesty extension, urges simpler process

The Managing Director of UpdateAfrika Communications, Dr. Joseph Effiong has lauded the decision by Lagos State government to extend the amnesty window initiated for owners of existing buildings without mandatory approval to secure their permit.

The amnesty programme will allow owners and developers of existing structures to obtain Planning Permits without incurring statutory penal fees.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide had earlier in the week announced the extension by additional three months, starting from August 1- October 2024 to allow more people benefit from the programme.

Effiong who had earlier expressed concern that the initial three months assigned for the programme was insufficient, averred that the extension will strengthen programme’s motive.

Odogwu said the gesture was timely, considering recent spate of building collapse across the country. He therefore called on other states to institute urgent and workable measures to prevent building collapse.

Citing statistics by Building Collapse Prevention Guild(BCPG), he said, “Nigeria has witnessed at least 135 building collapses and 26 deaths between 2022 and 2024.”

He however advised Lagos State to simplify its approval process, expressing that the measure is being fraught with system complexities.

According to him, the stringent conditions of applying for approval still remains and had prevented many from keying into the amnesty opportunity.

He worried that a number of those who managed to apply are forced to discontinue when they could not cope further.

“The implications of this if not addressed will be that more substandard buildings will litter the state, while the threat of building collapse will persist. Government should take a step further to trim permit requirements to a considerable limit and cut down assessment fees. This will encourage voluntary compliance in no small measure,”he urged.