Dr Oluyinka Olumide, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos State, stated in a recent interview that 80% of buildings in Ibeju Lekki lack approval. During a visit to Ibeju Lekki and Epe Axis, he and his team observed that about 80% of estates had been marked for no approval.
According to him, the first step towards obtaining approval is to get planning information about the area's zoning. However, in some cases, people buy land from families without knowing what it is meant for, even when it is marked for agricultural purposes. The next step is to obtain a fence permit, which can help detect what the area is zoned for if the zoning information was missed earlier.
After that, acquiring a layout permit for a large expanse of land follows. Olumide emphasized that a layout permit cannot be acquired without proper zoning for the intended purpose or the purpose being requested.
Despite all these requirements, some people still advertise and even display the sizes they want to sell without obtaining approval. Olumide explained that if an approval is not eventually granted, even after passing the assignment and the survey to them, the individual permit would not be granted because the area is not zoned for that purpose.
In a similar vein, Jide Odusolu, the Chief Executive Officer of Octo5 Holdings, mentioned that the masterplan of Lekki Peninsula was altered after 2010 because of rapid development. This led to newer estates bypassing old regulations.
