1 week ago
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- Lagos state government has announced plans to start marking illegal structures on Banana Island for demolition
- The structures to be demolished are those that fail to comply with government rules and regulations
- There will be a period of grace after the marking, and the date for demolition has also been announced
Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
The Lagos State Government will start marking out structures for demolition on Banana Island, on Monday, February 17.
The structures include illegal buildings that have failed to comply with set rules.
The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mr. Gbolahan Oki, disclosed this at the stakeholders meeting on the Island on Thursday.
Source: Getty Images
The Illegal structures are non-compliant
According to Mr Oki, the buildings to be pulled down violate one or more of the building codes and regulations mapped out by the government and pose safety risks to the residents.
Some structures also encroach on prohibited areas, or areas mapped out for safety reasons, the Vanguard reports.
Particularly, some of them had been built too close to the shoreline, close to or under high-tension power lines. He explained that developers are expected to give up to 150 metres space from the shoreline before constructing any structure, and despite reducing the requirement to 100 metres, many structures still fall into the danger zone.
The LASBCA General Manager disclosed that the marking of the buildings will last a week, from Monday 17 to Friday 21 February 2025.
Date of demolition
Mr. Gbolahan Oki stated that after the week of marking the structures, the owners had one more week of grace to get ready any documents they needed to prove they had not defaulted on the law.
He said;
“After that, I am going to pull everything down.”Demolition of the illegal structures would, thus, commence on March 3, 2025.
Oki insisted that these structures posed a risk to the residents, and the government was putting the lives of residents above the value of properties
Recall that illegal structures had also been pulled down in other locations including Abulegba, Iyana-Isheri, and Mayegun Waterfront.
Lagos state government is final authority on lands
Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on e-GIS and Planning Matters, Dr Babatunde Olajide, also added that the Land Use Act makes the Lagos state government the final authority on Land matters within the state.
He noted that there was a master plan for the Banana Island area and that unauthorized sand-filling and land reclamation were disrupting the plan. Olajide called on Lagos residents to cooperate with the government.
In his response, Mr Abidemi Sonaike, the Chairman of Banana Island Association pledged that the residents would cooperate with the government to resolve all the issues affecting the estate.
Lagos state govt pulls down illegal structures
In related news, the Lagos state government demolished illegal structures and shanties in several areas including the Apongbon bridge, and on the setback of Savage/Elegbata/Bombata drainage channel, Lagos Island.
Several buildings under construction were also sealed off for placing construction materials and building equipment on the roads and on drainage channels.
The government mandated the building owners to take their building materials and equipment off the roads and channels before they could continue construction.
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Source: Legit.ng
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