The Lagos State Government has clarified that it did not revoke all existing building permits, contrary to some online reports.
Instead, the government explained that it had opened a three-month amnesty window from May 2 to July 30, 2024, allowing property owners to obtain or perfect their planning permits without the usual statutory penalties.
In a Sunday statement, the Director of Public Affairs, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Oloye Olusegun, noted that the clarification became necessary following a misleading headline report in an online news medium that stated the state government revoked all existing building permits.
He said, “It should be noted that the issuance of a planning permit is the prerogative of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, which is under the supervision of the Honourable Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development.
“The directive issued by the Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde, was that Letters of Authorisation to commence construction, issued by LASBCA needed to be revalidated because most developers, after obtaining the letter to commence construction, fall short of engaging all relevant professionals in the building projects.”
He noted that the revalidation was to allow the agency to conduct proper audit and authentication of all the professionals who would be engaged in building construction in the state.
He added, “Dr Babatunde also disclosed that buildings under construction that had been abandoned for a long time needed to be re-certified before recommencement of construction to ascertain the structural stability of the building project.
“He directed that henceforth, nobody should sleep in buildings undergoing construction, all construction work should not go beyond 7 pm every day, and there should be no building construction work on Sundays.”
Oloye noted that the Special Adviser further directed that property owners and developers should revalidate all letters of authorisation to commence building construction issued to them.
Source: Punchng