By Grace Alegba
The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) on Monday embarked on a road sensitisation campaign to educate residents on compliance with planning permit laws ahead of its 2025 stakeholders’ engagement.
The roadshow, in Lagos, was aimed at creating awareness on the importance of adhering to physical planning regulations.
LASPPPA, an agency under the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, kicked off the procession from its headquarters in Ikeja GRA.
Using public address systems, officials explained how timely compliance with planning laws guarantees equity in investments, ensures proper urban planning, prevents building collapse, and supports government in managing city growth.
Their officials stressed that approvals are mandatory before construction, demolition, remodelling or change of ownership of properties, warning that non-compliance attracts sanctions.
Residents were urged to avoid touts and instead register online, visit LASPPPA headquarters or any of its district offices across the state to obtain approvals within 10 days.
They also invited the public to the forthcoming stakeholders’ engagement on Friday with the theme: “Planning Permit: The Rebirth.”
Earlier, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Olumide Oluyinka, received LASPPPA officials at his office in Alausa.
He addressed the gathering on the importance of sensitisation before joining the roadshow alongside the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Oluwole Sotire, and other top government officials.
Speaking with journalists, Oluyinka said the campaign was designed to tackle low awareness about the value of planning permits.
“It will be an ongoing exercise because we must take this message right to the grassroots. Our people in riverine areas and local communities must also know and appreciate the importance of planning permits,” he said.
The commissioner explained that planning approvals help the state monitor development patterns and expand infrastructure to meet residents’ needs.
“You can’t drive a new car without registering it. If you buy a phone with a SIM card, it won’t work after a few days if it isn’t registered.
“The same applies here. There is no individual anywhere in the world without a birth certificate. For a building, that permit is its birth certificate, and every structure must have it,” he added.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Electronic Geographic Information System (e-GIS), Dr Babatunde Olajide, and the Permanent Secretary, Oluwole Sotire, urged residents to be good ambassadors by complying with planning laws.
They outlined the benefits of compliance and warned that violations or inaction could negatively affect the wider society.
The General Manager of LASPPPA, Mr Kehinde Osinaike, said the campaign was building on successes recorded from previous sensitisation drives.
He noted that compliance levels had risen as reforms had simplified the process of obtaining approvals.
“There has been a marked increase in submissions of planning permits and issuance of approvals,” he said.
A fuel attendant in Maryland, Mr Mazi Alphonsus, commended the campaign.
“If they continue like this, people will not make mistakes,” he said.
Alphonsus added that it was “heart breaking” to complete a building in error, especially given current economic realities, only to face the risk of demolition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the procession began from LASPPPA Headquarters, Ikeja GRA through Ikeja under bridge, Oba Akran, Agidingbi, Alausa, Oregun Road, Opebi Road, Sheraton, Maryland and its environs. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa
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