Lagos govt grants 37,266 planning permits in six years

No fewer than 37, 266 planning permits have been granted by the Lagos State Government out of a total of 57,347 applications received in the last six years.

Disclosing this during the Ministerial Press Briefing in Commemoration of the second year of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for Physical Planning, Dr. Oluyinka Abiodun Olumide, said the planning approvals were granted by the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) for various uses.

According to him, the uses applied for included residential, commercial, mixed-use and institutional, among others.“

“For instance in 2024, the authority granted approvals for 95 hospitals, 27 petrol filling stations, 151 shopping malls and 95 schools, among others,” the commissioner said.

Giving the breakdowns, he said that within the first phase of Amnesty period (May-July, 2024), 4,877 applications for planning permits were received for various uses, including residential, commercial, mixed-use and institutional among others, while 2, 151 approvals were granted within the same period.

For the second phase of the Amnesty period (August – October, 2024), he added that 3,570 approvals were granted out of 6,402 applications.

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“In the third phase of the Amnesty Period (November – December), 3,135 Approvals were granted from 7,210 applications,” he said.

To enhance the planning permit coverage in Lagos State, he explained that LASPPPA embarked on various initiatives, including the decentralisation and creation of additional district offices, human capacity building and the establishment of a framework for “Operation 10-Day deal” for planning permit processing.

Others, he said were awareness programme and the subsequent intensive enforcement activities.

To ensure that all parts of the state are covered by a plan, the commissioner said the Lagos State Government, through the Office of Physical Planning, initiated or reviewed many Master and Model City Plans and within the period.

He also disclosed that the Physical Planning and Building Control Appeals Committee received 95 petitions against government agencies, individuals, and public officials during the period.

According to the commissioner, the committee conducted hearings on all 95 petitions and delivered decisions on 35 of them, while 28 petitions are still ongoing.

“The Appeals Committee struck out 32 petitions due to petitioners failing to respond or returning to court,” he said.

On manpower capacity enhancement, he said that the state government employed additional 173 town planning officers between grade levels 08 and 10 to bridge the skill gap while the Office of Physical Planning instituted a quarterly Outstanding Officers’ Award to promote excellence.

“Winners of the first quarter year2025 Award are Mr. Abari Mustapha in the senior category and Mr. Shokunbi Olajide Ibrahim in the junior category,’ he said.

On the activities of the Lagos State Planning and Environmental Monitoring Authority (LASPEMA), Olumide said it carried out the following activities including the real-time data gathering and collation of operators on the informal urban spaces, making the authority a repository of information for the Lagos State Government and other MDAs.

He said the agency also embarked the continuous strategic partnerships with corporate organisations ( PPP) to actualise collaborative efforts for a well-planned city – A Greater Lagos; increased and continuous I installation of vollards for the proper demarcation of economic areas from walkways across the city

According to the commissioner, the agency also embarked on organisation of stakeholders’ meetings towards the transformation of the incidental open spaces at Sabo-Itokin by Ile-Epo Oba, Ikorodu North LCDA.

“Its activities included the preparation of Strategic Action Plans for re-ordering of selected densely populated informal urban spaces in alignment with Operative Development Plans (ODP) of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to enhance the implementation of the state’s T.H.E.M.E.S+ Agenda to make Lagos State inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

“Completed Transformation Action Plans: (i). Abule Egba Informal Urban Space (ii). Sabo – Ikorodu North Informal Urban Space (iii). Oko – Oba, Agege Abattoir Canal Informal Open Space; collaboration for proposed partnership on innovative sustainable solar-powered kiosks across Lagos for an eco-friendly landscape; strategic collaboration with the other MDAs, including Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation ( OTCI ), Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency ( LASAA ), Ministry of Transportation ( MOT ), Lagos State Parking Authority ( LASPA ), Lagos State Parks & Gardens Agency ( LASPARK ) and Lagos State Health Management Agency ( LASHMA),” he said.

The commissioner said that the administration led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is waxing stronger in its commitment to the built environment of Lagos State as indicated by the laudable achievements and initiatives recorded in the sector in the past six years.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE