Obey physical planning laws, Sanwo-Olu tells developers

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has charged property developers in the state to obey the physical planning laws as outlined by the relevant agencies of government.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke during the celebration of the 2022 World Habitat Day, said achieving a sustainable city as envisaged by the Sustainable Development Goals would be a mirage without all stakeholders in the built environment obeying physical planning and other relevant laws of the state.

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, said a number of institutions in the state were purposely created or refocused to address the socio-economic imbalance and champion the even development of Lagos and its people.

Sanwo-Olu said, “Every citizen must desist from embarking on any form of physical development without following due process and procedure outlined by the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority and Lagos State Building Control Agency. We all have a responsibility to ensure that our communities are orderly, organised and sustainable.”

The governor also stated that for effective implementation of the development goals, his administration had remodeled the Lagos Global office into a more pertinent office of Sustainable Development Goals and investment to pilot broad-based and inclusive application of the ideals of the SDGs in the state.

He added, “Closely related are the activities of the Lagos State Office of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, as well as the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency, all geared towards closing the social gap and ensuring that no one and place are left behind in our march towards a greater Lagos of world-class cities.”

Earlier, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Bamgbose Martins, said the World Habitat Day theme aimed at directing global attention to the growing inequality and vulnerabilities that had been exacerbated by COVID-19, climate change and conflict.

This, he said, had made it a global priority to tackle urban poverty and inequality.

He added that the government had boosted the provision of environmentally friendly housing and enhanced the sustainability of the built environment in the state.

The commissioner said this was with the approval of the Building Energy Efficiency Code, the Green Building Initiatives, as well as ongoing domestication of the National Building Code.

He said this was coupled with the current move to automate planning permit process and other procedures of the Ministry of Physical Planning and its Agencies.