The alarming rate of spring up of illegal structures on federal government land particularly in Festac Town has caught the attention of the Lagos State Government.
This spring up in areas especially 6th avenue, Festac Town, Amuwo-Odofin area of Lagos according to the State Government is a gross violation of the extant Town Planning Law of the State.
This state government has warned that the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development would not hesitate to invoke all the relevant sanctions therein, including the demolition of such structures to achieve orderliness and sustainable environment in line with the vision of the present administration.
The State Government handed down the warning when the Commissioner, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako, visited the area recently to assess the compliance level of physical development in accordance with Lagos State Urban Regional Planning and Development Law 2010.
He also reiteration Government’s determination to sustain the policy of zero tolerance to illegal construction in any part of the state without obtaining all requisite permits from the relevant Government agencies.
In the same vain, the Commissioner also expressed his displeasure at the Federal Government’s inaction and lack of strong will to prevent land speculators and land grabbers from invading federal lands and constructing all forms of illegal structures in total disregard to the Lagos State Town Planning Laws and Regulations.
According to him,
”there are lot of illegal structures around the 6th Avenue, whose owners are ignorantly claiming to be constructing on Federal land and therefore, asserting that the State Government has no right to regulate their construction activities.
He strongly advised such owners to regularise their property titles with the Lagos State government to avoid the full weight of the Town Planning Law and save their property’s investments.
The Commissioner also noted that some of the property owners are using inferior construction materials, unqualified professionals and unstable land for their illegal construction with visible evidence of tilting building and cracks which make them inhabitable.
All these, he said, are pointers to the fact that the structures are susceptible to collapse which is unacceptable to the State Government.
While fielding questions on the way forward, Salako said,”the solution is that government will have to take control of the area, sanitise and enforce all the necessary provisions of the Laws including the demolition of unsafe and illegal structures where compelling.
Clarifying whether the exercise was enforceable, the Commissioner said,”It is not that it is not enforceable.
We noticed that some of our officers had made frantic efforts in the past to enforce the Town Planning Law in the area but were repelled by some hired miscreants and land grabbers.
However, the State Government is not timid by the criminality and violence tendency of few individuals attempting to upset government legitimate responsibility.
The required compliance processes and procedures must be upheld at all times irrespective of the person(s) involved.
In terms of time frame, the commissioner said it is not about timeframe, “we are on it. We shall continue to carry out the necessary enforcement exercises.
The acclaimed property/plot owners need to regularise their property title with the State Government according to the extant Laws of the State. These are some of the things we are out to correct.
“We will continue to enlighten the concerned owners to take advantage of the friendly disposition available to them from the Government and do the needful by respecting the laws of the State, “he said.
Speaking with one of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) staff who pleaded anonymity, he said,
“In the right sense of the word, you can see the buildings do not conform to the building specifications, standards and provisions of the Badagry Master Plan. You can notice indiscriminate building specifications that are not in line with the Master Plan. Some of the illegal structures have encroached on the road alignment, green area and the proposed drainage alignment.
Another respondent who also chose to be anonymous, regretted that people will just put their hard earned money in a controversial parcel of land.
According to him, the people are aware that the EFCC visited the area recently, mounting caveat emptor to indicate where people should not build.
“Despite all that, people are bent on wasting their money on lands that are not genuinely acquired. Is it not tantamount to penny wise pound foolish? Let’s wait and see how it will eventually end”.
In order to ascertain the extent of illegal sale of land by land grabbers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) toured the Festac Phase11 and mounted sign posts that warned members of the unsuspecting public not to fall prey to land speculators whose land were already acquired by government.
According to an eye witness account, the EFCC caveat signposts in the course of the tour indicated the areas where it said status quo should be maintained.
According to them, it is important to sensitise the general public on maintaining status quo on the land.
“This is to inform the general public about the illegal sale, economic sabotage and unlawful delienation of Federal Government Land in Festac Phase 11 by unauthorised persons as the EFCC is currently investigating the exercise.
“The fraudulent transactions of the unauthorised persons and their representatives are presently under scrutiny by EFCC.
This is therefore to notify members of the public and any interested party to be weary of any transaction involving any portion or part of the Land as such transactions will be visited with the full wrath of the law, “the eye witness quoted EFCC.
Speaking to the media, the spokesman for the Commission, Mr. Tony Orilade, said the EFCC was only investigating the land. “We are investigating the matter you are talking about and at the appropriate time we shall make our findings known to you and other members of the public.”