A Lagos State official announced on Tuesday that it would file a lawsuit against obstinate developers who routinely disregard physical planning regulations and violate government seals.
This was stated by Mr. Kehinde Osinaike, General Manager of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), during an enforcement operation of the authority on Kusenla Way, Ikate Elegushi, in the state’s Eti-Osa Local Government.
The enforcement team’s leader, Osinaike, lamented the state’s physical planning regulations being disregarded, particularly by building developers.
He claimed that while violating a government seal was illegal and subject to punishment, the authorities were making every effort to inform Lagos citizens and developers about the advantages of voluntary compliance.
According to the general manager, incorrect developers and property owners who damaged the seals on prior letters were being sent out follow-up notices.
After exploring all nonviolent options, he claimed, the government would pursue legal options.
Osinaike claimed that although a number of residents were participating in the drive for voluntary compliance, some developers continued to flout the rules.
He pleaded for complete compliance in order to create a situation where citizens and the government benefit and the city becomes organised, safe, and habitable.
“We are trying to be as much as possible to be civil with these developers who are bent on circumventing the law or compromising.
“We will continue this campaign for voluntary compliance until we achieve zero tolerance in the state,” he said.
The general manager said that over 20 sites had been sealed for a number of violations, including illegal development, construction without planning permissions, and stage certification violations.
He claimed that the highbrow axis elite, who ought to know better, were also breaking the law.
Osinaike claimed that the developer was constructing without a planning permit in relation to a jetty that had been shut off on Ozumba Mbadiwe Way near the Lekki axis.
“The law would have to take its course, one of the things we have to do now is we are going to instruct our legal person to proceed on arresting these unrepentant developers and bring them to justice,” he said.
